World Come Undone
by crazyundeadfairy
Summary: Unexpected things happen when ObiWan takes Luke to Tatooine.
1. Prologue

Luke was still too new to life to resemble either of his parents. Swaddled, Obi-Wan hadn't even been able to tell Luke from Leia. Both had blonde hair, blue eyes, and the squished features typical of all newborns. But even had he not been present for his birth, Obi-Wan would have instinctively known that the infant was Anakin Skywalker's son. The Force around the small boy spoke of his kinship with the fallen Jedi knight. And though the child was barely three days old, Obi-Wan could sense the greatness in him. Given his parentage it would be impossible for Luke not to excel at all things. Obi-Wan only hoped that Luke was allowed the carefree childhood Anakin and Padmé had been denied.

"Never doubt that your parents loved you," Obi-Wan murmured into the downy soft hair atop Luke's head. "You would be with them and your sister now had things not gone so horribly wrong."

The only response he received from Luke was a wide yawn and some wiggling of his nose. Obi-Wan had seen Anakin's nose twitch in the exact same way countless times while he slept. Anakin was the most active sleeper Obi-Wan had never known and it had always been a constant source of amusement for him. Replicated in his son, though, it brought tears to his eyes.

"That's a beautiful son you have," a female passenger said as she sat down in the vacant seat next to him. "How old is he? If you don't mind my asking, of course."

Obi-Wan offered her a tight smile. "He's only a few days old."

"And his mother?"

"No longer with us," Obi-Wan whispered, his eyes trained on Luke's face.

The woman apologized profusely, her cheeks flushed in embarrassment. She offered up a final, "He looks like you," before falling silent. She looked away before she had a chance to notice Obi-Wan's body stiffening at her words. That was the same thing Sidious had used to turn Anakin against him. It was utterly inconceivable that he would have any type of sexual relationship with Padmé. Obi-Wan had never felt any hint of desire for her. She was a dear friend and nothing more.

Before he had parted company with Master Yoda and Senator Organa, Obi-Wan had taken it upon himself to alter his appearance in what ways he could. In the short amount of time that had been available all that he'd been able to do was exchange his Jedi robes for civilian garb, have his hair trimmed so that it stood up in soft spikes and, most noticeably of all, shave off his trademark beard. Anakin had always hated the beard, claiming that it made him look old. Without it, Obi-Wan felt naked. He had originally grown it in an attempt to appear older when he had first been knighted. He'd been far younger than any other knight with a padawan and given the notoriety of his apprentice it had seemed a prudent thing to do. That had been thirteen years before.

Years that Obi-Wan would have given anything to get back.

More than that he wished that he would have paid better attention and seen Anakin slipping closer to the dark side before it was too late. Obi-Wan wasn't sure if there was anything he could have done to prevent Anakin from being transformed into Darth Vader, but at least he would have made more of an effort. He might have been able to save Padmé. Through Padmé he might have been able to lead Anakin back to the light. Anakin had loved her desperately; enough to betray the Jedi Code.

Yet Obi-Wan knew that it wasn't Anakin breaking the Code that had allowed him to slip to the dark side. It was Obi-Wan's own failings. He had allowed the Council to dictate things and ultimately hadn't been there when Anakin had truly needed him. Obi-Wan couldn't guarantee that he would have been able to keep Anakin from falling prey to Sidious' manipulations, but he could have helped to prevent it. If he had it to do over he would have taken Anakin to Utapau with him. They would have defeated Grievous together and, most importantly, Anakin would have been kept away from Sidious.

It hadn't occurred that way, though, and Obi-Wan had to live with the knowledge that he'd left his best friend burning on the side of a lava flow. In all honestly he had never meant to harm Anakin. Despite Master Yoda's orders, Obi-Wan had only intended to talk to Anakin—to try and reason with him. Until Anakin had tried to kill Padmé Obi-wan had never thought any reality existed in which he and the younger man would be enemies. Anakin was his best friend and a man he gladly would have given his life to protect. And the same man who had tried to kill him on Mustafar. Not merely tried, but had put a serious effort into the task.

Obi-Wan grieved for what had become of the cheerful boy Qui-Gon had found on Tatooine. Never in his wildest dreams had Obi-Wan even fathomed that such a thing was possible. It wasn't even something he had considered because there had always been something so innately good about Anakin. Underneath all of the emotions that swirled around inside of him that goodness had always remained. Be it in a laugh or a smile, Obi-Wan had always known that Anakin was a good man.

He only wished that he could share Padmé's belief that Anakin wasn't completely lost to the dark side. Several days later he could still hear Anakin's voice in his head, screaming accusations at him on that fiery planet.

"_I HATE YOU!"_

Obi-Wan squeezed his eyes shut tight. There had been so much venom in Anakin's voice as he'd shouted up the hillside at him. Even then it had taken everything in him to turn away from the man who had been his friend for the past thirteen years. He was certain that Anakin's screams on that pumice shore would haunt him until the end of his days. It was a fate he deserved for failing Anakin so completely. He should have seen the burden that Anakin was carrying and found some way to help him. If he had seen what was going on sooner he could have done something before events had spiraled so out of control.

In his arms, Luke began to squirm about irritably. Obi-Wan had never spent any significant time in the company of an infant and had very little idea how to care for one. Young Luke shifted about again, his small mouth stretched open in a wide yawn. Obi-Wan couldn't stop his grin at the sight of it. His smile only grew when Luke drifted back off to sleep a moment later. It was a much more solemn smile as he was once again reminded of the boy's father. Anakin would have taken such joy in his son.

"I'm sorry that you'll never get the chance to know your father," Obi-Wan whispered as he adjusted his hold on the small boy. "One day I will ask your forgiveness for my role in his fate."

Obi-Wan stared down at Luke as he slept, totally unaware of the current chaos that the galaxy was mired in. And the chaos that continued to grow.

Darth Vader was still alive.

Against all probability and reason he had survived the lava on Mustafar. It hadn't been reported on the HoloNet yet, but Obi-Wan knew that he was alive. There was still enough of a remnant of their former training bond for him to be able to sense that Anakin still lived. It wasn't strong enough for him to gain any sense of where Anakin was, but there could be no doubt that he still lived.

Regardless of the fact that Vader still lived, Obi-wan wouldn't change how he had ended things on Mustafar save that the battle had never occurred. Orders or not, he could never be the one to kill Anakin. Anakin Skywalker should not be punished for the crimes committed by Darth Vader. It was a tragic series of circumstances that had led to Vader's rise to power, but it was not a reason to kill Anakin. For Padmé's sake, as well as that of Luke and Leia, Obi-wan meant to do whatever he could to bring Anakin back from the darkness that engulfed him.

Provided there was anything left to save.

That venture would come later, though. At the moment it was his duty to see Luke safely delivered to Anakin's kin on Tatooine. Obi-wan had never met Anakin's step-brother, but he understood the logic of leaving the infant in Owen Lars' care. Even if the Emperor suspected that Anakin's children had lived, sending one of them to Tatooine was far too obvious a choice for him to suspect. He could only hope that Leia would be equally safe on Alderaan.

The next time that Luke began to fidget, he awoke with a slightly uncomfortable whimper. Soothing hums through the Force kept the sounds from becoming all out sobs, and Obi-Wan rose from his seat in order to find a place to change the infant's diaper.

"I'm a Jedi Master and General of the Republican Army," Obi-Wan grumbled to himself as he began unfastening the soiled cloth. "You'll have to forgive me if I do this incorrectly, Luke. My paternal skills are somewhat lacking. Fortunately you'll just have to bear with me a short while longer."

Strangely enough that statement filled him with sorrow. Luke was the only physical proof he had that a man named Anakin Skywalker had ever existed. True, he was in possession of Anakin's lightsaber, but in the end the lightsaber could be lost or broken. It existed only as a relic of a now defunct way of life. Luke, however, was a part of Anakin. Beyond a few shared traits and frighteningly similar eyes he was Anakin's son. For that reason alone Obi-Wan would give his life to keep Luke safe from any threats, including those from his own father.

Just as Obi-Wan was returning to his seat an announcement came over the speakers that they would be landing on Tatooine soon and that all passengers bound there should prepare to disembark. Those people wandering about all lumbered back to their seats before the passenger ship began its final descent. Obi-wan strapped himself into his seat, securing Luke in the sling draped across his chest. Luke let out a series of contented noises as he settled down to sleep once again. Obi-Wan had to laugh at that, remembering the healer informing him that, as a newborn, Luke would spend most of his time asleep. It certainly made traveling easier.

There was enough of a crowd in the spaceport that Obi-wan could hide easily enough. Tatooine was just as he'd remembered it. Hot, dry, and entirely too sandy. It wasn't a place he would have chosen to make his home, but if he was to keep Luke safe from the Empire he would have to stick close to the boy. He would also need to keep an eye on Luke to see if he developed the Force sensitivities of his father. One of the faults in Anakin's training was that it had begun too late. If Luke showed the potential, Obi-Wan intended to begin his training early and so carry on the Jedi traditions.

Obi-Wan bought some supplies and an eopie to transport them before beginning the trek to the Lars' moisture farm. Being one of the few known surviving Jedi, he wanted to keep as low a profile as possible for the next little while. Once Sidious turned his attentions elsewhere he could resurface, but not as Obi-Wan Kenobi. Never again would he be able to answer to that name. He was now Ben Kenobi. Close to his original name, correct, but altered enough for it to not be obvious.

"Your father was the best man that I know," Obi-Wan said quietly as he steered the eopie away from Mos Eisley and out into the surrounding desert.

With nothing else to do over their long journey, he began to tell Luke about Anakin. After all the years they'd known each other Obi-wan had amassed a great deal of stories about the younger man. Tales that not even the HoloNet knew about because they had taken place in private. Anakin's first swimming lessons; their trip to Illum to retrieve the crystals for Anakin's first lightsaber; Anakin grumbling about having to wear formal attire at diplomatic meetings. So many things both big and small that had been Obi-Wan's life for thirteen wonderful years.

As he told these stories and others to Luke it seemed to Obi-Wan as though he was speaking of someone else's life. Even events that had occurred only a few months before no longer felt like things that had happened to him. In the past week his life had been turned so completely on its head that Obi-Wan no longer recognized it or himself.

The closer he got to the moisture farm, the more uneasy Obi-Wan began to feel. Something was wrong. Just what that was he couldn't determine and he hugged Luke to him more securely. Then he saw it. As he cleared the rise that overlooked the flatlands surrounding the farm, Obi-Wan caught sight of a fading plume of smoke rising up in the distance. Fishing a pair of binoculars out of one of his packs, he scanned the area.

There was no mistaking what he saw.

Not far from the aboveground entrance of the homestead were two badly charred corpses. Reaching out through the Force, Obi-Wan could find no sense of life in them. There was no mistaking their identities. Most likely because of their relationship to Anakin, Owen and Beru Lars had been killed. Obi-Wan suddenly feared for Padmé's surviving family. He wouldn't put it past Sidious to remove any trace of Anakin Skywalker's life from the galaxy. Returning the binoculars to his pack, Obi-Wan turned the beast back towards Mos Eisley.

Safeguarding Luke had now become Obi-Wan's only concern. Sidious could not be allowed to harm the infant. Leia would be safe enough where she was under Senator Organa's protection, but at the moment he and Luke were on their own. Staring down at Luke's sleeping face, Obi-Wan hoped that he would be able to keep the little boy safe.


	2. Part I

Never in his life had Obi-Wan thought it would be up to him to care for an infant. He didn't have the slightest idea of what was required of him in the long run. He was only supposed to have been Luke's caretaker for as long as it took to get him to his family on Tatooine. Now he not only had to care for Anakin's son, but do it while hiding from the Empire.

It pained Obi-Wan that Anakin could have no part of his son's life. Having seen his former apprentice spend time with the younglings at the Temple, Obi-Wan knew just how at ease Anakin was around children. Anakin was very patient and kind to them, playing games with them in his spare time. Obi-Wan knows that Anakin would have been a wonderful father and each time he looks at Luke he can't help but feel sorrow for the way events have unfolded.

After a week of traveling on various refugee ships, Obi-Wan was beginning to question his actions on Mustafar. In truth, from the moment he had seen Anakin burst into flames he had questioned his decisions, but the long flights left him with far too much time to think and with each hour he regretted more and more than he had left Anakin on the shores of that lava flow. It had never been his intention for his confrontation with Anakin to turn into physical battle no matter what Master Yoda's orders. Anakin was his brother and no matter what he had done Obi-Wan could not bring himself to kill the man who had saved his life so many times. The man he had spent countless hours on transport ships with finding ways to entertain themselves. The man who had tended to his injuries and for whom he had done the same. The man he would have given his life for in an instant. Yoda had asked the impossible of him and in the end it had been a stream of molten lava that had done what Obi-Wan himself could not.

Throughout it all there was a small part of him that clung to Padmé's dying conviction. Foolhardy as he knew it was, there was a small part of Obi-Wan that wanted to believe there was something in Anakin worth saving. That the lava of Mustafar had turned Anakin completely into the Sith Lord Vader Obi-Wan did not doubt—that fire would have burned away whatever remained of the boy he had trained. But Obi-Wan had to believe that there was still something human inside that fire-ravaged monster. If not for the sake of his friend then for the child he held in his arms. In Luke was the last of Anakin's humanity and Obi-Wan prayed that the boy would one day be able to do what he and Padmé had been unable to.

Lying in a small bundle of blankets next to him, Luke stared up at him with wide blue eyes. The little boy was unaware of all the turmoil swirling around him. He had never even had an actual home in the ten days he had been alive. Obi-Wan was the only constant thing in the infant's life just as Luke had become for him.

As he reached into the makeshift bedding to pick Luke up, Obi-Wan was once again struck by the fact that not only had Anakin been unable to ever hold his son, but Padmé had never held her children either. She had lived long enough to name them and to briefly touch Luke, but in the end Anakin's betrayal had been more than she could handle and she'd passed on into the Force.

"Had your parents lived, you would right now be living in the lap of luxury in Naboo's lake district," Obi-Wan informed the small boy as he cradled Luke to his chest. "From what I remember hearing from your mother, you have two cousins, though I'm afraid I cannot recall their names. They would have made good playmates for you and your sister when you were older. Things being as they are, you shall have to make due with me. Your mother's family is far too much in the public eye for you to be safely concealed there."

It had taken Obi-Wan some time to become accustomed to the fact that he would receive no response from Luke aside from a few stray blinks and the odd yawn. After so many years he was used to Anakin's animated conversations. The younger man would argue his case long after the faults in his logic became obvious. Obi-Wan had always indulged him because he honestly enjoyed bantering with his former apprentice. They had been so long together that by the end they would quite often finish each other's thoughts. Many times their lives had been saved in battle because they were so intoned with one another. The two men could fight vast numbers of droids, ducking and weaving and moving as though they were a single entity.

That was what had made Mustafar so difficult. Not only had he been fighting his best friend, but also a man who had fought for years as his mirror image. The only advantages either had received came from punches and the like that were out of sequence with the fighting forms they used. With a lightsaber neither could best the other when engaged in that elegant dance.

Until the very end. It was Vader's arrogance that had sealed Anakin's fate. At any other time Anakin would have never attempted so reckless a move. He would have been tempted, true enough, but Anakin would never have made himself so vulnerable. And Obi-Wan would never have been force to remove his friend's three remaining limbs. While the memory of the act still made his heart clench, Obi-Wan reminded himself each time that it had not been Anakin he had left defenseless and burning on Mustafar. Rather, it had been Anakin's murderer.

Anakin's fears had given life to Darth Vader and in the end Vader had murdered the selfless boy Qui-Gon had found on Tatooine so many years before. He could blame Sidious for deceiving the boy for the rest of his days, but ultimately it was Anakin's fears that had destroyed him and unleashed a horrible monster onto the galaxy.

"But perhaps your mother was right," Obi-Wan mused before reaching into his satchel to remove a bottle of simulated breast milk for Luke. "Perhaps something of Anakin survived those flames."

Unable as yet to allow himself that hope, Obi-Wan focused is whole attention on feeding Luke his dinner. Caring for an infant made for a rather uniform existence. He had to ensure that Luke was fed, changed, had plenty of attention, and was allowed to sleep undisturbed whenever possible. It was a far cry from the regimented life he'd lived as a Jedi no long ago, but it gave Obi-Wan something to focus on and kept him from dwelling inwards too much.

At the same instant Obi-Wan removed the empty bottle from Luke's mouth, the infant let out a milky burp that dribbled down his chin.

"Your father's eating habits, I see," Obi-Wan chuckled as he cleaned away the spit up with a clean cloth. "It was a well kept secret that the reason your father wore browns and blacks was to hide any spills on his clothing."

Luke's second burp was a little louder and then he snuggled deeper into Obi-Wan's arms, nearly asleep instantly. Obi-Wan could only stare at the little boy's face in wonder. In that brief instant he caught a glimpse of Anakin in Luke's face. It lasted for only a split second, but in that instant he saw the best friend he had lost.

Obi-Wan wasn't certain he would be able to handle seeing Anakin's face staring back at him for the rest of his days. Anakin already haunted his nights, a silent figure in his dreams pleading for help as he burned away on the shores of Mustafar. And, if he was truly honest, Obi-Wan had been tempted to save Anakin when the flames had first engulfed him. No matter what he had done, Anakin had been his best friend and it had pained him to leave Anakin behind. More than once Obi-Wan had wished that Yoda had allowed him to face Sidious rather than Anakin.

Killing Anakin had never been his intention. Even after seeing the security footage, Obi-Wan had hoped there was some way to draw the younger man away from the darkness that was consuming him. He had hoped that there was something in Anakin that could still be saved. All of that had ended when he'd seen Anakin strangling Padmé with invisible hands. She was the one he had threatened the entire galaxy for and to see that he was willing to kill her without any hint of remorse frightened Obi-Wan. He had realized then that Anakin was no longer the man he had known.

His and Luke's current destination was a remote system called Roon. It was far enough away from the Core Worlds for it to be easily overlooked by any forces still hunting the errant Jedi across the galaxy. Obi-Wan was still confused as to why his image was not being broadcast across the HoloNet along with the remainder of the living Jedi. He wasn't foolish enough to believe that Vader was somehow protecting him. Vader had been determined to kill him, a resolve which would have only grown following the events on Mustafar.

It couldn't be any way else. Obi-Wan Kenobi was an enemy of the newly formed Galactic Empire because of the simple fact that he was a Jedi. At one of the spaceports, Obi-Wan had seen images of the Temple as it was now—ravaged and destroyed by fire. The building had been turned into a giant pyre, cremating the bodies lying dead within its walls. Obi-Wan's knees had nearly given out under him as he watched the massive center spiral crumble in the wake of the fire. The High Council room, the revered seat of the Jedi Order had been impaled through two of its large windows by the base of the spire that had supported it.

As he watched the fire engulf the only home he had ever known, Obi-Wan found himself wishing that he had gone on the errand that had seemed trivial to him when he and Master Yoda were altering the distress transmission. Before he had seen the security footage and realized the extend of recent events, Obi-Wan had thought to return to his quarters and retrieve the small box that contained his and Anakin's padawan braids as well as his late Master's lightsaber. At the time of Qui-Gon's funeral, Obi-Wan had explained away keeping the weapon as a temporary replacement for his own lost one. New the Knighthood and still becoming accustomed to both it and his new padawan, Obi-Wan hadn't been sure how long it would be before he could construct a new lightsaber. Afterwards, he had simply found himself unable to part with Qui-Gon's lightsaber. Now both it and the padawan braids were lost, consumed by the same fire that had destroyed the Temple.

To Obi-Wan, it seemed a fitting ending for those relics of Jedi Order.

There were enough scattered settlements on Roon for he and Luke to remain hidden away for a long while. It was a forested planet that they were bound to, lush and green and so unlike the planet that had created Anakin. Luke would grow up surrounded by trees and rivers and Obi-Wan hoped that he would grow up to be happy. From him Luke would learn of his parents for Obi-Wan didn't intend to masquerade himself as the boy's father. Luke would know of Anakin and Padmé. And later, once he was older, Obi-Wan would tell him of Leia and of their father's fate.

The temporary home Obi-Wan found for himself and Luke was near the edges of a small village named Bantok. It was a simple mud brick building with a single bedroom, 'fresher, a kitchen and a common room. In truth there was no much difference between it and the apartment he had shared with Anakin in the Jedi Temple save for the number of bedrooms. The amount of time he'd spent with Anakin over the years had also given him enough knowledge of mechanical things for Ben Kenobi to become part owner of a repair shop.

During the day Obi-Wan was able to put up the pretences of living a content existence with his son. The story of their past was that Ben and his infant son Luke were from a system that had been invaded and destroyed by the Separatists. The injuries his wife had received had allowed her to live only long enough for the infant to be born and after seeing to her burial he and Luke had fled the system. There were enough such tales that existed in the wake of the Clone War for it not to be remarkable.

For the most part Obi-Wan was content. At least during daylight hours. Between caring for Luke and working at the repair shop, Obi-Wan kept himself far too busy to think about Anakin or the life he had once lived. Nighttime was a different matter entirely. Try as he might, Obi-Wan was unable to guard his dreams against things that he would rather not think of.

"_You underestimate my power!"_

"_Don't try it."_

Even more than a month later, Obi-Wan could still feel the heat of Mustafar against his skin and taste the sulfur in his every breath. He sat up in the center of his bed, panting and sweating profusely as a result of yet another nightmare while the heat of Mustafar once again infused his skin. Obi-Wan didn't think that he would ever be free of those flames.

Across the room, Luke let out a frightened whimper. Obi-Wan rose swiftly from his bed, cursing silently for having frightened the boy. While Luke was not yet to the point where he slept through the night, Obi-Wan's accidental projecting had woken the infant sooner than he would have on his own. He crossed the room hurriedly to where Luke's basinet stood against the wall opposite his bed.

"Hush now, Luke," Obi-Wan murmured as he gathered the baby up in his arms. "I'm sorry for waking you up, young one. I am usually much better at guarding my thoughts, I promise you."

Still obviously upset by whatever visions he had absorbed from Obi-Wan's nightmare, Luke continued to whimper and nuzzled deeper into the man's arms. Obi-Wan wandered about the moonlit room, talking softly to Luke in hopes of calming him. Ever so slowly Luke's scrunched up features began to relax, his eyes blinking owlishly.

"No matter what your father would have liked to believe, he was not directly responsible for saving me on Cato Nemoidia. In fact, all that he did was pull me from the storeroom after I'd already disposed of all the droids," Obi-Wan explained to the wide-eyed infant. "It was something that Cody or any one of the clones could have done and were likely already in the process of doing. Your father missed the fighting entirely as he often did when it was decided that I should be used as bait. Thinking of it now, I cannot recall a single time when it was your father that was the distraction. Odd that."

Luke gurgled at that, wiggling about in Obi-Wan's arms. He was much like his father in that respect, denying his need for sleep. When Anakin was young Obi-Wan had had to force the boy to bed nearly every night. It was as though Anakin was afraid he would miss out on something while he slept regardless of his body's need for rest. Just as it had been with Anakin, though, Obi-Wan was able to coax Luke back to sleep with gentle nudges of the Force.

"I always said that Anakin would be the death of me," Obi-Wan sighed as he set the sleeping boy down in his basinet. "Never did I once think it was possible that I would be responsible for his death. I loved him then and I still do."

Obi-Wan watched over Luke until the morning rays began to lighten the sky. The baby slept on, completely unaware of what was going on around him. Tempting as it was, Obi-Wan didn't envy Luke his innocence. Even in the midst of the war there had always been something about Anakin that remained innocent, right up until the very end. It was what had helped Palpatine turn Anakin to the dark side. The Dark Lord had spent years manipulating the innocent boy that was Anakin Skywalker, twisting him into the creature Darth Vader. He would not get the same chance with Luke.

* * *

His former master was out there somewhere. Obi-Wan was infinitely crafty and had somehow managed to survive the Jedi purge, a fact which didn't surprise Vader. If there were any Jedi to survive the Order's destruction it would be his former master. Vader wished that Sidious' intelligence had been false and that Padmé was still alive—still with Obi-Wan. So long as it meant she lived and that the baby had survived.

Staring out at the endless expanse of space, Vader knew that it was only a foolhardy dream. Padmé was dead, by his hand, and so was their child. A child that he had loved before it had even taken a single breath and that he had killed. Vader realized now that it was his own fears that had killed Padmé. He had refused to see it then, but if he'd done as Yoda had instructed and forced himself to come to terms with the fact that Padmé would one day die, both she and their child would still be alive.

"Lord Vader, the Emperor wishes to speak with you."

Vader raised his left hand, absently waving at the clone as he continued to stare out at the thousands of stars dotting the sky. Obi-Wan was on one of those systems and eventually Vader would find him. It was impossible for Obi-Wan to hide from him forever. One day Obi-Wan would make a mistake and Vader would find out the truth of what had happened to Padmé and his child.

Closing his eyes, Vader was able to shut away the red computer lens that filled his vision. If he concentrated hard enough he could see Padmé as he remembered her that night on the balcony when he had first learned that he was to be a father. Before his nightmares had begun. She had been so beautiful then; her skin glowing and her eyes alight with such joy. Padmé had been so excited about the baby.

Slowly blinking his eyes open, Vader turned away from the transperisteel window. It was not wise to keep the Emperor waiting.

"I will find you, Obi-Wan."


	3. Part II

"Daddy! Daddy! Look!"

Wiping his hands on the legs of his trousers, Obi-Wan stood up in time to see Luke come barreling into the shop. The two and a half year old came charging into the repair shop, hands cupped together in from of his chest. As always the little boy had a huge smile on his face. Obi-Wan had never known such a happy child. Luke was always bounding around and laughing and generally reminding Obi-Wan of the boy Anakin had once been.

"Daddy, look!"

"What have you got there, Luke?" Obi-Wan asked, crouching down to the little boy's level.

With great pride, Luke uncurled his hands to reveal an odd purple and blue bug with six long black legs. A horrid thing, in Obi-Wan's opinion, but thankfully not dangerous.

"That is very impressive, Luke," Obi-Wan enthused, smiling fondly at the child he had raised from birth. "And what will it's name be?"

Luke pursed his lips, blonde brows furrowing together as he considered a name for his latest friend. "Detwo! Like in yer stowies."

Luke's energetic response brought and instant smile to Obi-Wan's face even as he felt a sudden pang of loss at the memories it brought. Spending all of his time concentrating on raising Luke it was easy to forget the life he had lived before. The Jedi were little more than a legend on Roon, figures from a story that never really existed. It was only in moments like that he remembered that it had been real. That until a few years ago it was all he had known. Now his life revolved around caring for his best friend's son.

However, even though the Jedi were only half believed in, tales of the Hero With No Fear and the Negotiator were widely known. They were as mythical on Roon as they had been in the streets of Coruscant. Luke was still too young to think of them as anything besides bedtime stories. He was also certainly too young to connect those stories with the ones Obi-Wan told him about Anakin. Or the fact that Obi-Wan wasn't really his father. Obi-Wan was the only parental figure Luke had ever known so he had naturally been first Dadda then later Daddy. And while he cherished each time Luke called him Daddy, it wouldn't be long before the little boy was able to understand the truth of his parentage. He would know that he was the son of the most powerful Jedi to ever live. It was a very stern legacy to live up to.

As had always happened since Luke had learned to walk, the little boy ran ahead of him, bouncing along the street then the path that led to their cabin. The village he and Luke called home was small enough that Obi-Wan didn't fear for the young boy's safety when he wandered about. If it wasn't one of the older boys watching him then one of the women in the village often had their eye on the toddler while Obi-Wan worked in the repair shop. Just as often, though, Luke could be found in the repair shop, tinkering away with any spare or broken parts just as Anakin had always done. Luke had yet to construct anything that actually worked being more content to simply play with the parts and getting himself covered in grease.

For much of Luke's first year, Obi-Wan had rarely let the infant out of his sight. He'd feared both Vader and the Emperor tracking them to the remote system and taking the boy. Obi-Wan feared Vader just as much as he'd loved Anakin. Anakin had been closer to him than a son or a brother, the two of them a single entity towards the end of it. For all the uncertainty that had surrounded Anakin, Obi-Wan had never once thought that the younger man would turn to the dark side. He'd been naïve not to realize just how strong Anakin's fear had been, though.

Anakin's fears had been strong enough to bring about the downfall of the Republic which had stood for one thousand years.

Yet Luke knew nothing of fear. The boy was wholly innocent of such emotions, never having been forced to learn them. Obi-Wan had always suspected that Anakin had learned fear early, the life of a slave being anything but easy. And while Anakin had never complained of Watto's treatment of him, the junk dealer hadn't been Anakin's only master. There were others who could have hurt Anakin and instilled the fear that had eventually consumed him.

"Daddy, watch out!"

Obi-Wan was snatched from his bleak thoughts just in time to see the rather large branch he had nearly tripped over. Shaking his head briefly to clear his thoughts, Obi-Wan grinned down at the small boy, ruffling his hair as he passed.

"Thank you, Luke."

"Silly Daddy," Luke giggled before running ahead of Obi-Wan, most likely in search of more bugs to befriend.

Obi-Wan had no doubt that once Luke was older and a little quicker he would start bringing home small mammals instead of just insects. Young as he was, Obi-Wan could already sense that Luke would be very powerful in the Force. Without even being aware of it, Luke was often very in tuned with the world around him, sensing things that most other people wouldn't. It was a talent that Obi-Wan did his best to nurture Luke's talents, training him in the way of the Jedi. After all, the Sith had survived a millennia with only two among their number at a single time. The Jedi could do the same thing. They would need to if peace was to be restored to the galaxy.

The thing that troubled Obi-Wan the most was what would become of Anakin in the final battle. Obi-Wan wasn't certain that he could fight his former partner a second time. It had taken everything in him to fight Anakin the first time. Defeating him was even more difficult. He had very nearly hesitated when Anakin had made his final jump. In the end he had forced himself to remember a simple fact: Anakin was a Sith. In that moment he had no longer been Anakin Skywalker, but instead Darth Vader. Anakin Skywalker no longer existed.

After two and a half years that thought still pained Obi-Wan.

Rounding the front of their cabin, Obi-Wan couldn't help but grin at Luke jumping up and down trying to reach the control panel. It was still more than a foot above his head, but the boy was determined. Luke was not exceptionally tall for his age, but Obi-Wan didn't doubt that he would be tall like his father. Anakin himself had been a bit on the short side until the middle of his fourteenth year. In a few short standard months Anakin had gone from being half a head shorter than the older Jedi to being a good two inches taller. By the end of the following year Anakin was another two inches taller and thankfully appeared to be finished growing. Having seen HoloNet footage of the Emperor and his apprentice, Obi-Wan had become aware that the prosthetic limbs that replaced the ones Vader had lost on Mustafar added several more inches to his already tall frame.

"Wanna open the door," Luke insisted, pouting up at Obi-Wan, hand son his hips.

As with Anakin, Obi-Wan could not resist his young charge. Scooping the little boy up into his arms, Obi-Wan balanced him against his hip and shuffled over a few steps so that Luke could reach the small panel that controlled the door's locking mechanism. Luke punched in the proper code without hesitation and was squirming out of Obi-Wan's arms before the door had even opened.

Obi-Wan could only marvel at the energy the boy possessed. There was rarely a moment that Luke was still. Not even in sleep since even Luke's dreams were active. He was constantly twitching about, playing with the creatures he befriended during the day.

"Luke, what do you want for dinner?" Obi-Wan called out as he began searching through the cupboards. Before his exile to Roon, Obi-Wan had never done much in the way of food preparation. Prepared meals and camp rations had been the extent of his culinary abilities. And while he would have been content enough eating those, they were hardly nutritious foods for a toddler. So Obi-Wan had learned to cook. He was hardly a master chef, but he and Luke made due.

There was a slight pause and then, "Cheesy noodles!" was shouted from the common room.

The former Jedi Master merely shook his head. Cheesy noodles was Luke's favourite food and if Obi-Wan let him he would eat nothing else. However, it had been a few days since Obi-Wan had last made some so he relented. To ensure that Luke also got some protein as well he decided to chop up a few small sausages. Little carnivore that he was, Luke would hardly notice.

Obi-Wan was busy grating the cheese for their dinner when Luke wandered into the kitchen. Obi-Wan didn't pay much attention at first, figuring that Luke had smiply forgotten one of his toys on the table. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of what the little boy was playing with and immediately dropped both the dress and the grater onto the counter.

"Where did you find that, Luke?" Obi-Wan demanded in his most stern voice as he crossed over to where Luke stood.

The young blonde merely shrugged his shoulders, his eyes trained on the ground.

"Luke."

"In da box wiff the lock," he finally muttered.

Obi-Wan's right hand went to his throat, but the leather cord with the key on the end was still in its place. "And just how did you get into it?"

Luke shrugged his shoulders again. "Dunno."

"How Luke?" Obi-Wan pressed, crouching down in front of the little boy.

Still he got nothing more than a shrug of the boy's shoulders. Obi-Wan had to wonder if that was the truth of it. At only two and a half, Luke most likely didn't have the words to express what had happened. So instead Obi-Wan switched to a different tactic.

"Can you show me?"

Luke brightened immediately at the request and nodded his head. "Show you."

Lowering the heat so that the water wouldn't boil over, Obi-Wan took Luke's hand. He was led straight towards his bedroom in the back of their home. Originally there had been only the one bedroom, but Obi-Wan had decided to build a second one around the time of Luke's last birthday. Things were calming down and they were safe enough on Roon that he didn't have to watch over the boy every single moment. Constructing the second bedroom had been a meditative project for Obi-Wan. It allowed him to think only of more positive things: that he would be able to keep Luke safe from the Emperor long enough for the boy to actually appreciate the privacy. Currently, its pain role was as a place for Luke to play and make as much of a mess as he wanted in an area that Obi-Wan could simply close away from the rest of the house.

As he had known, Luke went straight over to the small locked chest that sat in the far corner of Obi-Wan's bedroom. There were only two things in that chest, one of which Luke held in his chubby little hand.

"In there," Luke said pointing to the chest.

Obi-Wan knelt down next to him. "I know it came from in there, Luke, but how?"

Turning away from him, Luke stared intently at the box, scrunching his features up. He was concentrating very hard and then, to Obi-Wan's utter amazement, the locked lid of the chest popped open. Luke smiled broadly and then bounded forward to grab the second lightsaber Obi-Wan kept hidden away inside of it.

"See. Toys," Luke announced, a lightsaber in each hand.

It was that Luke had chosen Anakin's first that caught Obi-Wan's attention. Just as he was able to open the chest without much effort, Luke had unconsciously known which of the lightsabers belonged to his father. All of it had been instinctive, as though the knowledge had already existed in his brain. It left Obi-Wan with no doubt of Luke's eventual powers. Obi-Wan only hoped that he would not fail Luke the same way he had Anakin.

Obi-Wan gently took his own lightsaber from Luke. He held it carefully, resting it in the palms of his hands. "This is not a toy, Luke. It's a very dangerous weapon."

"Toy?" Luke tried again plaintively.

"Not a toy," Obi-Wan repeated. He then reached out to touch the weapon in Luke's small hands. "One day this will be yours. But for now we need to keep it safe and protected."

Luke opened his mouth to protest, but nonetheless allowed Obi-Wan to take the lightsaber from him and return it the chest. Each of the two lightsabers had their own slots in the chest, a place of honour as the only two remaining Jedi relics: the weapons of the Hero With No Fear and the Negotiator. According to whispered legends, the two lightsabers had been lost in the lava flows of Mustafar. And though there hadn't been a single witness to it, the battle itself was equally legendary. It was a battle no one, not even Obi-Wan himself, would have thought possible. The Jedi's greatest team, two men who had been closer than brothers, fighting on opposite sides and both meaning to kill the other. It was something Obi-Wan had never thought possible. That he would have to do something like that to Anakin, his best friend.

Yet it had happened and now Obi-Wan was left trying to make a new life for himself and for Luke. So long as they could remain off the Emperor's radar, Obi-Wan figured that he could keep Luke safe. He would ensure that he didn't make the same mistakes with Luke that he had with Anakin and would hopefully save the boy from his father's fate.

By the time dinner was served, Luke seemed to have forgotten all about the lightsaber. He was still young enough that distractions were easy to come by. All that Obi-Wan had to do was point him in the direction of his toys and that was the extent of Luke's world. Still, later that night, though, after Luke had gone to bed, Obi-Wan had decided to hide the lightsabers in a new location. It would have to be easy enough for him to retrieve in case of emergency, but still hidden enough so that Luke would be unable to find it. Obi-Wan was uncertain how long such a location would continue to exist given Luke's already exceptional talents.

That night when he took the lightsabers out of the chest to find them a new hiding place, Obi-Wan instead ended up seated on his bed staring down at the two durasteel hilts. Remarkably, it was the same one that Anakin had constructed following the loss of his on Geonosis. Obi-Wan had never learned exactly how Anakin had lost his weapon on the desert planet and would have just assumed that it had been taken from him when he was captured had it not been for things Anakin let slip over the ensuing years. Anakin had never been very good at lying.

"I'm sorry I failed you, Anakin," Obi-Wan murmured as he set the lightsabers in a small recess barely a foot off the floor. He then moved the chair that was a remnant of Luke's infancy in front of it, blocking it off from sight. While no longer as secure, the weapons were no longer in such an obvious location. "I will do better by your son than I did you."

* * *

The Emperor was hiding something. Vader couldn't be certain what it was, but he had spent enough time with the old man to know when his motives were not entirely pure. Not that he could ever trust Sidious' motives. After all, the man had manipulated the situation with Padmé to his benefit. He had manipulated so many other things that Vader hadn't even become aware of until it was too late. Until he had destroyed his everything that he had ever loved.

Save one thing.

Obi-Wan Kenobi was still out there somewhere.

Where exactly he was Vader hadn't been able to find out even after more than two years of searching. His lack of success in finding his former Master also made Obi-Wan the only other surviving Jedi aside from Master Yoda. Vader couldn't care less about the little troll, his concern now and always was Obi-Wan. The man who had differing times had been his father, his brother, and his best friend. Obi-Wan was wrapped up in everything that he did and was. No matter how hard he tried, Vader couldn't find a way to destroy his memories of the older man.

"Obi-Wan Kenobi is an insect that you should no longer concern yourself with," the Emperor said as his reflection appeared suddenly alongside Vader's in the plasteel view screen. "Allow him to live the rest of his life in obscurity."

"I want my vengeance," Vader growled, the effect lost in the constant suck/hiss of the respirator that was a part of his suit. "Obi-Wan stole everything from me. Padmé, my child, even my limbs. He should not be allowed to live in peace."

"I doubt very much that Kenobi lives in peace," the Emperor contradicted. "One of the last of his kind, he will be forever on the run for he knows that you will not let him escape indefinitely. Now come, we have other things to concern ourselves with."

The Emperor turned and slithered away without giving Vader a chance to respond. It was a common occurrence when Obi-Wan was mentioned. Even during the initial hunting for the remaining Jedi in the Empire's early years, Obi-Wan had always been kept far down on the list. By the time only he and Master Yoda were left, the Emperor was no longer interested in hunting down the Jedi. He had deemed them a non-threat and so Vader was denied his vengeance.

With no other choice, Vader followed after his Master. The leash that Sidious held him on was tighter than the one the Jedi Council had ever tried to latch to him. Not only had he sworn his allegiance to the Sith lord, but Sidious also controlled his very life. He was the one who commanded the healers who kept his life support suit in working order.

So, to free himself from the Emperor's control, Vader had been attempting to spend time without his mask on. The longest his damaged lungs had been able to sustain themselves was half an hour. He had spent far too long on the ventilator that his lungs had grown reliant on the thing. It was necessary, though. When he finally found Obi-Wan, he wanted the other man to be able to hear his voice, not the deep mechanical one that he couldn't escape.

His voice would be the last one that Obi-Wan would hear. His eyes the last ones Obi-Wan would see. His touch the last one Obi-Wan would ever feel. Vader would stand for nothing else, the Emperor be damned.

"Your attention, please, Lord Vader," the Emperor ground out in annoyance. "This is a most important matter."

"Sorry, my Master."

The sound of his sigh was lost in the suck/hiss of the respirator.


	4. Part III

Obi-Wan had sensed the clone troopers before he actually saw them. Three years of fighting alongside the elite soldiers had ingrained their Force signatures in his mind. The majority of them felt the same in the Force, but there were a few who stood out in his mind. In particular Commanders Cody and Alpha. Obi-Wan had spent nearly as much time in Cody's presence during the Clone Wars as he had Anakin while he and Alpha had counted on one another for survival at the hands of Asajj Ventress. It was neither of those clones that he sensed on Roon then.

The only comfort Obi-Wan had at the moment was that Luke was spending the day with some other children and their parents at the seaside. Obi-Wan himself had meant to go, but there had been too much to do at the shop for him to take off in the middle of the week. With luck the clones would be gone before Luke returned.

"What do you think they're doing here?" Gavin, his co-owner in the shop, mused as a group of three clone troopers in full battle gear strode past the open garage doors. "The Empire's never had any business here."

"The Empire still has no business here," Obi-Wan clarified, his right hand instinctively reaching to the place where his lightsaber had once hung when a pair of them stopped across the street. "They should stay on their side of the galaxy."

As though they had heard him, the two clone troopers crossed the street and entered the shop. Obi-Wan forced himself to relax, knowing that hostility would only get him into trouble. They were passing a datapad between them and Obi-Wan happened to glance at the information on the screen. They had come looking for Obi-Wan Kenobi; General of the Clone Wars and Jedi Master. All that they would find, though, was Ben Kenobi, father to Luke and widower of Shanni Kenobi. The name of his supposedly dead wife had come from a girl whose life he'd saved on Corellia nearly a decade before. For some reason her name had stuck with him when he'd needed to create a past for himself and Luke.

"We're looking for Ben Kenobi," one of the clones said without preamble.

Taking a half-step in front of Gavin, Obi-Wan inclined his head briefly. "And you've found him. My name's Ben Kenobi. Will you be needing something fixed?"

"We need information."

Obi-Wan struggled to keep his right hand from moving up to his jaw in an all too familiar gesture. "And just what type of information are you after?"

"We're looking for General Obi-Wan Kenobi."

Obi-Wan had to laugh outright at that; at the clone's sheer audacity. "I don't know where you get your information, but I'm just a simple mechanic. Whatever my name is, I don't know any generals."

"Where were you during the wars?"

"All over the place," Obi-Wan shrugged, idly scratching at the corner of his jaw. "Corellia, Duro, Velusia. We were on Coruscant when it was attacked."

That caught the clone's attention. "We?"

"My wife and I," Obi-Wan amended, heaving a great sigh. "She was killed in the hospital plaza when it was destroyed. We had just been to see the midwives."

"How old are you?"

"Thirty-four."

There was no reaction from the clones, so Obi-Wan assumed that Gavin didn't react to the fact that he had removed six years from his age. Age was not something that Obi-Wan had ever truly concerned himself with, but he knew that the clone troopers in front of him would be aware of his age. That there was a humanoid Ben Kenobi who was the same age and bore something of a physical resemblance to the errant General Obi-Wan Kenobi would not be overlooked.

Just to be certain, though….

"The man that you are looking for is not on Roon," Obi-Wan said calmly, focusing on projecting the words into the clone's minds.

"The man we are looking for is not on Roon," the one with the datapad said to his companion.

"You can leave now."

"We can leave now," the same one echoed.

Both clones muttered something that could be interpreted as a farewell and left the shop. Only when they had turned down the street did Obi-Wan relax his shoulders. He started to turn towards the office at the back of the shop, but was brought up short when Gavin suddenly stepped in front of him.

"What the hell was that, Kenobi?" the smaller man demanded, his voice a low hiss even though there was no one to overhear them.

Scrubbing a hand over his face, Obi-Wan grabbed hold of Gavin's arm with his free hand and dragged him back towards the office. He didn't want to have the conversation he knew was going to follow in a place where they could be interrupted.

"The clones repeated everything you said," Gavin said as soon as the door to the office was shut. "Their voices got all dead and they repeated you almost word for word. What's going—You're him, aren't you? Fierfek! That was one of those Jedi mind trick things, wasn't it? You're General Kenobi!"

"Will you please keep your voice down, Gavin," Obi-Wan said as calmly as he could manage. In truth, the only thing Obi-Wan wanted to do in that moment was find Luke and get off Roon. He'd been a fool to think that he and Luke could hide there forever.

"Oh no! You're telling me what's going on. Starting with why you never told me that you're the Negotiator."

Obi-Wan sighed, slumping against the edge of his desk. It was really little more than a table where he could do the necessary paperwork for invoices and other mundane tasks. Tasks that Obi-Wan had taken for granted until that very moment. He could have easily lied or used his talents to convince Gavin that he wasn't Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, General of the Clone Wars. The thing that stopped him outright, though, was the simple fact that Gavin was his friend and he owed Gavin the truth.

"You don't honestly think that I could have told you who I really was, do you?" Obi-Wan asked as he crossed his arms over his chest. "You know as well as I do that Jedi were being hunted and killed all over the galaxy when I arrived. That they were being hunted for more than a year after I arrived. It's not safe for me to be Obi-Wan Kenobi any longer. I have other obligations."

Gavin stared at him in confusion for a moment before he blinked, his expression softening. "Luke."

"Luke."

"He's not your son, is he?" The words were spoken as a question, but Obi-Wan knew that it was a statement.

"It doesn't matter who Luke's father is," Obi-Wan said instead. "The only important thing is keeping that little boy safe. And since Roon is now in the Emperor's sights, it is no longer safe for Luke and me to remain here."

Gavin jerked slightly as the words registered in his mind. "You're leaving."

"I have no choice," Obi-Wan said honestly.

* * *

Vader wasn't supposed to know that the Emperor was actively searching for Obi-Wan. He had found out, though, a fact which he kept hidden from the Emperor. It wasn't so much that Sidious was looking for Obi-Wan that caught Vader's attention—he was one of the few remaining Jedi –it was that he was doing it in secret. And that he was doing it after Sidious himself had decided to let Obi-Wan stew about in exile. Vader knew instantly that there was something being kept from him if he wasn't allowed to know about the search or the reasons for it. Some secret that his master was keeping from him.

That fact alone was enough to raise Vader's ire. It was secrets the Jedi Council had been keeping from him that had caused him to turn away from them. If they had simply allowed him into the restricted areas of the Jedi archives he might have been able to find out about Darth Pelagius' teachings on his own without having to rely on Sidious. Vader knew the archives contained that information because he had conducted his own search of the archives in the weeks following his recovery. If Yoda had just told him what he needed to know so much would have been different.

The Republic and the Jedi Order could very well still be standing if he had just been given the chance to save Padmé.

It was a fruitless wish, though. Only when his mind had begun to clear after the fires of Mustafar did he realize his turning to the dark side had been inevitable. The dreams had led him down the path, true enough, but they were created by that same path because he had already been walking upon it when his nightmares had begun. Vader wasn't quite sure what the turning point had been, but the murder of Dooku had fixed his course to the dark side. Sidious had been able to worm his way into the vulnerable Anakin's consciousness and created Vader.

Padmé had been a sacrifice. She had been offered up by Sidious so that he could create a new apprentice. Padmé and his child had died in order to create Vader and the Galactic Empire. One day Vader meant to ensure that the Emperor paid the price for his actions.

For the time being, though, there was little he could do. Vader wasn't strong enough yet. His injuries had not healed to the point where he was powerful enough to defeat his Master.

So he would wait.

Vader knew that he was meant to have died on the shores of Mustafar so whatever forces had kept him alive were not finished with him yet. He would use the advantages given to him and ensure that all who were responsible for his suffering shared in his pain before the end.

* * *

It had taken a huge amount of willpower for Obi-Wan to not rush off to the shore and get Luke. Rationally he knew that the boy was safe for the moment and that no good would come of him scurrying about in a panic. That would only draw attention to them. It would be better for them to leave in the dead of night. That Gavin already knew his secret would make things easier. Obi-Wan felt better that the other man knew because he would not be abandoning him and the shop without any notice.

After finishing his conversation with Gavin, Obi-Wan returned to the place that had been his home for the past two and a half years. He'd always known that it would never be a permanent home, but he'd become attached to it. It was filled with memories of Luke. The little boy had grown so much, become his own person, while living on Roon. Even so, there was so much of Anakin in him; the untainted Anakin that he had met on Tatooine so many years ago.

Now it was time to leave that all behind and Obi-Wan didn't know where to take Luke. All of the places he had planned on when he had first taken over Luke's guardianship were no longer an option. The Empire had firm footholds in all of Obi-Wan's intended destinations. Fortunately it would be easier to flee this time because Luke wasn't a newborn. At two and a half, Luke would be able to hide and fight back should anyone attempt to grab him. It was still dangerous, but nowhere near as dangerous as it had been when Luke was an infant.

When he arrived home, Obi-Wan immediately began to pack up the essentials. The very first thing he did, though, was don a dark leather trench coat and his lightsaber. His Jedi robes were far too distinctive and Obi-Wan had left them behind on Polis Massa when he, Yoda and Bail Organa had gone their separate ways. The long coat was a suitable replacement as it allowed him to hide his lightsaber just as the robes had before. At first Obi-Wan was unsure of what to do with Anakin's lightsaber, but in the end he clipped it to his belt alongside his own. So long as it was on his belt he wouldn't have to worry about someone stealing it.

Less easy to pack were his and Luke's belongings. Obi-Wan had never truly owned anything before arriving on Roon and in only a few short years had managed to accumulate a great deal of things. True, much of it was related to Luke—clothes, toys, learning tools –but until then Obi-Wan had never realized just how much stuff there was. And the bulk of it would have to be left behind as they'd be traveling light. So while Luke was still away, Obi-Wan packed several changes of clothes for the both of them and a few of Luke's favourite toys. There would be a great deal of space travel in their future and the toys would keep the small boy occupied.

"Daddy, I home!" Luke shouted as he burst through the front door.

Leaving his packing for the moment, Obi-Wan entered the common room to find Luke making a beeline for him while Gavin's wife Meryssa hovered near the doorway. Scooping the blonde whirlwind into his arms, Obi-Wan offered Meryssa a warm smile.

"I trust that he didn't exhaust you too badly," Obi-Wan chuckled as he carefully balanced a squirming Luke against his hip.

Meryssa returned his smile easily. "He wore out my boys which is the best I could have asked for. I'll gladly take him along any time if he can wear Tion and Zander out that easily."

"Tion and Zander couldn't catch me," Luke chirped, wiggling out of Obi-Wan's arms. "I ran faster."

Obi-Wan had to laugh out loud at that. There was nothing smug or confident about the statement as there would have been with Anakin, just a little boy's joy at being able to play with older children. Initially, when he had first arrived at the Temple, Anakin had been the same way. Being so old, Anakin hadn't fit in with the younglings and had always been so happy when the other Padawans would allow him to join their games. In his teens, though, that joy had been replaced by a smugness when Anakin began to realize that his abilities far surpassed his peers. Obi-Wan hoped that things never became that way with Luke.

"I'll leave Luke to tell you about our day at the shore," Meryssa said by way of farewell as she backed towards the door.

Obi-Wan inclined his head, thanking her once more for including Luke in the outing. "I know that Luke has always benefited from you motherly influence."

"Bye Missa!" Luke shouted absently, already immersed in a game he had tugged out from behind the sofa.

There was nothing remarkable about their farewells. Nothing to keep it locked in either his or Meryssa's memories, but it would be the final time that the two of them met. And Obi-Wan would genuinely miss her. Meryssa had been invaluable to him when Luke was still an infant. She and Gavin lived close enough that she had been available whenever an emergency arose. Obi-Wan could still vividly remember when Luke had begun teething. The very air around Luke radiated with the pain the little boy was feeling and Obi-Wan could find no sense of what was wrong with him. He'd feared that he'd harmed Luke in some way. Obi-Wan had been on the point of panic when he brought Luke to Meryssa only to be informed that his teeth were growing in and that he needed something cool to gnaw on to help with the pain. Having two boys of her own, she had been an invaluable source of information. And while Obi-Wan didn't doubt his abilities to keep Luke safe, he was not so confident in his ability to raise the boy. Things had hardly turned out well with Anakin.

Obi-Wan waiting until after Luke had fallen asleep before gathering up the two packs with their belongings and leaving the only home Luke could remember. He was able to barter passage on a transport to another district and sat with Luke sleeping soundly on his lap in the back of the vehicle's cab.

His actions could be viewed as an overreaction, but the truth was that he couldn't take the chance of Luke being discovered. Luke was still very young and impressionable and Obi-Wan feared what would happen if the Emperor found him then. Even Anakin with his maturity hadn't been able to overcome the Sith Lord's manipulations for the simple fact that he had been close to the man for most of his life. So Obi-Wan had to keep Luke hidden as long as possible. The clone troopers were aware that there was man named Kenobi living on Roon which meant that before long both the Emperor and Vader would know. By the time the two men were able to do anything about it Obi-Wan hoped to be far from the system.

It was just a question of where he and Luke would end up.

While he'd waiting for Meryssa and Luke, Obi-Wan had toyed with the idea of making a home in the underwater Gungan city of Otoh Gunga. Boss Nass had become quite fond of Padmé and Obi-Wan was sure that the Gungan leader would help to hide her son. It was Obi-Wan himself who refused to put the Gungans at risk. Beautiful and secluded as the city was, it was too close to many of the locations that had been important in Anakin's life. What had ultimately been the deciding factor was a half-remembered HoloNet report mentioning that Vader made a yearly trip to the Nubian capital of Theed to visit Padmé's tomb. If Vader ventured to Naboo while he and Luke were on it there would be no stopping the Sith Lord from tracking them down.

The same went for Coruscant. Obi-Wan longed to return to the place he would always consider his home, but so long as Luke was dependent on him it was impossible. He didn't fear what would happen to him, but if Vader captured him there was no telling what would become of Luke and that was a risk Obi-Wan was not willing to take.

"I hope that you will forgive me for this when you are old enough to understand," Obi-Wan whispered into Luke's soft hair. "But you are Anakin's only chance of fulfilling his destiny so you have to be kept safe. Even from your own father."


	5. Part IV

It shouldn't have surprised just how easily Luke adapted to being a refugee. He was his father's son and craved adventure just as much as Anakin had. Luke had grown up on tales of the boy who wanted to visit all of the stars and managed to see quite a few. Luke loved the stories even though he didn't yet know that they were about his father. Obi-Wan had given up trying to convince Luke that he wasn't his father some time ago. He was still too young to fully understand what was going on. At that very moment, Luke was playing with a young T'wilek girl that he had befriended the day before.

It was three days since they'd left Roon and Obi-Wan had not yet set a final destination for them. He thought it was best as they would be harder to track that way. Sticking to Outer Rim planets, he and Luke would simply venture from spaceport to spaceport until he no longer felt as though Sidious was closing a fist about his throat.

There was a slight tug on his arm and Obi-Wan gazed down into Luke's smiling face. "Daddy, tell me an' Talia 'bout the man an' the stars."

"I think you know that story well enough to tell her all by yourself," Obi-Wan chuckled, ruffling Luke's hair.

The little boy arched out of his grasp, shaking his head with a huge grin on his face. "Nu uh. You tell."

"Please!" the young T'wilek chimed in, her small violet hands clasped and shaking towards him.

"Please!" Luke echoed, copying her pose, but adding a slight bounce. Luke was never good at remaining still. "Please, Daddy! Please!"

As had always been the case with Anakin, Obi-Wan could not ignore those pleading eyes or the lower lip stuck out in a pout. There had always been very little that he could deny Anakin and it was now the same with Luke. So it was not a surprise to him that he soon found himself with Luke perched on his lap and an audience of younglings crowded around him. After a time even a few nearby adults had given up the pretence of conversation so that they could hear his tales of the boy journeying through the stars. On the surface it was a far more hopeful tale than any of the refugees currently enjoyed. None of them knew, however, the fate of that little boy. Obi-Wan doubted that they would enjoy the story so much if they knew that the boy became the monstrous Darth Vader.

By the end of the story all of the younger children had fallen asleep. He was quite certain that there was even a small puddle of drool where Luke's head rested against his chest. Comfortable where he was, Obi-Wan merely leaned back against the wall behind him and allowed Luke to continue sleeping.

Obi-Wan was determined to do whatever he could to ensure that Luke maintained his innocence and was allowed to remain a child. He was powerful, yes, but that power should not keep Luke from enjoying his childhood. Perhaps that was what had gone wrong with Anakin. Slavery and his training as a Jedi had aged Anakin far beyond his years and had given him no chance at peace. It had, in fact, destroyed what little he had managed to find in his and had turned it to darkness. With Padmé Anakin might not have fallen. The Council was full of blind fools, himself included, and Anakin's peace had been stolen from him. Along with his children.

Futile as he knew it was, Obi-Wan had to hope that one day Luke would resurrect Anakin from the shell of Darth Vader. Everything that Anakin had done had been to save his family. So long as a part of that family survived, Obi-Wan had to hope that a part of Anakin survived as well. Even after nearly three years, Obi-Wan wasn't ready to say goodbye to his best friend. Not when there was a chance that some part of him remained. For a brief moment at the very end Obi-Wan had sensed it. Right before the flames had consumed him.

"That's quite a story you told," one of the mothers said as she bent to pick up her son. "It's very romantic. Where did you learn it from?"

"A very dear friend of mine used to tell it," Obi-Wan murmured, adjusting his hold on Luke so that the boy could rest more comfortably. "He wanted to see all of the stars just like the boy in the story."

"And did your friend get to see all the stars?"

Sadly, Obi-Wan shook his head. "He tried, but in the end life caught up with him."

"That's always the case with dreamers," she whispered, meeting Obi-Wan's gaze for a brief moment before turning away.

There was a truth to her statement that Obi-Wan didn't want to acknowledge.

* * *

"There is no sign of Kenobi on Roon," a small holoimage of one of the clone troopers informed the Emperor. "There was a Ben Kenobi, but he was too young to be the Jedi and has a child. He's a mechanic."

The already distorted features of Sidious twisted some more. "I have it on good authority that Master Kenobi was never very proficient with the mechanical arts. All the same, I want him brought to Coruscant."

"My lord, we are no longer on the Roon system," the clone protested. "We left it three standard days ago."

"Then return to it and snatch this man," Sidious ground out. "The child too. It might be of some use to us if the father proves difficult."

"Yes, my lord."

The transmission ended there, but Vader kept the security footage playing a while longer. He needed to make sure that he hadn't missed anything because Sidious would not fill him in. Not when his master was the one keeping him in the dark about his search for Obi-Wan.

Once he was certain that there was nothing else of interest that had been recorded, Vader rerouted the security link back along its original path so that no one would notice that it had been tampered with. And Vader knew enough so that not even the maintenance droids would realize that the circuits had been tampered with. It was an advantage of having worked so long with electronics and mechanics. Vader had even been able to rewire the tracking device that he wasn't supposed to know was hidden in his suit. The protocol droid T-6C1 was the lucky recipient of his tracking signal whenever Vader needed to do something without Sidious' knowledge. Something which occurred a lot recently.

As he made his way back towards his quarters, Vader pressed the button he'd rewired that turned off his ventilation system. He'd made a recording of the suck/hiss that was his breathing that played over the sound of his own weak attempts to draw breath. It annoyed him that he hadn't thought to wean himself off the thing sooner. Waiting had only made his lungs weaker which meant it would take longer to correct the damage so that he could breathe on his own indefinitely.

Vader refused to be the Emperor's faithful pet any longer.

Unfortunately, desire alone wouldn't free him from Sidious. At least not yet. His body had become weak after Mustafar and all of his anger made it difficult to focus. Try as he might, though, Vader couldn't seem to release his anger. It consumed him. Anger at the Jedi for denying him Padmé. Anger at Padmé for dying. Anger at Sidious for making him dependent…. And anger at Obi-Wan for abandoning him.

Yet the part of him that was still Anakin knew that it couldn't have been any other way. For all that Obi-Wan loved him, he would never betray the Jedi. It was all that Obi-Wan had ever been. Obi-Wan had no memories of a family beyond what the Jedi had become to him. Anakin, though, was the only one he had ever truly thought of as his brother.

"_It's as close as I can come to explaining it. The Jedi are my family, yes, but you, Anakin, are my brother. You are closer to me than anyone else. Even Qui Gon."_

As Anakin he had written off the words as the medication Obi-Wan had been on at the time speaking. Obi-Wan had been newly released from a bacta tank after receiving a near-fatal wound during a pitched battle on some system Vader couldn't remember the name of. The older man hadn't been the least bit coherent so he'd excused the words as being confused ramblings. Obi-Wan had never mentioned it again and until that moment both Anakin and Vader had forgotten about it.

Except Vader was no longer quite so certain. Finally able to garner some control over his anger, Vader found himself questioning things that he never had in the past. Such as the way their battle on Mustafar had gone. During the actual fight itself, Obi-Wan had spent most of his time on the defensive. In his arrogance, Vader had simply thought himself to be the better fighter. And while he was more ruthless without Anakin's conscience, Obi-wan had been proved the victor in both skills and strategy. In the end he was the one who had walked away with all of his limbs intact. He had also taken Anakin's lightsaber.

For a long time that had confused Vader. Obi-Wan was not one to take mementoes from battles. In truth, Vader only knew of a handful of possessions that Obi-Wan had ever kept. A river stone from Endor's watery moon, the crystal from his lightsaber that had been destroyed on Naboo, Qui Gon's lightsaber and the small box with both his and Anakin's padawan braids inside. Everything else in his apartment at the Jedi Temple had all been standard issue. Even the civilian clothes he kept for undercover missions were wholly unremarkable. Those five things were all that proved that Obi-Wan had ever existed.

And they should have been destroyed when the Jedi Temple became an inferno. Vader had still be recovering from Mustafar when the Temple had been burnt, but those few things Obi-Wan kept secreted away remained safe. After his initial assault on the Temple, before he had gone to Padmé, Vader had gone to his former apartments and taken them. Even now Vader didn't quite know why he had done that since he hadn't taken away any of his own belongings from that same apartment. The few keepsakes Padmé had given him, a lock of his mother's hair and trinkets he'd collected in various systems he'd visited were all gone. While their loss pained him at the time, it was a loss that had since faded.

Vader was brought up short, his breathing suddenly becoming difficult. He refused to turn the ventilator back on, though. Instead he forced his limbs to obey and continued on towards his quarters. He had to become stronger if he was ever going to free himself from his leash. With Sidious seeming to be narrowing on Obi-Wan's location, Vader knew that he didn't have much time if he was going to be the one to kill his former Master.

Obi-Wan would see what he had done to him.

* * *

It was chance that brought Luke and him to the watery moon of Endor. At the last spaceport Endor had been the only Outer Rim stop available so that was the ship they had boarded. There had been on need for tickets, just a few whispered words to the attendant at the gate and they were passengers without anyone being the wiser; the gate attendant included.

Obi-Wan had always had fond memories of that particular moon and was happy to take Luke there. It had been more than a decade since Obi-Wan himself had last been there. Around the time of Anakin's thirteenth birthday he had managed to get them a few week's leave and had taken his little desert rat to a moon riddled with lakes, rivers and waterfalls.

Growing up on Roon with its extensive oceans, Luke had been able to swim before he could walk. Luke was completely at home in the water, a confidence that Anakin had never shared. Even though Anakin had learned to swim not long after he'd come to the Temple, Obi-Wan had always sensed a hesitance in him whenever they were near large bodies of water. Anakin regarded water with a sense of awe as it had been a precious commodity on Tatooine. It had taken a full month to convince the nine year old Anakin that he would take showers that lasted longer than a minute. By the time he was a knight it wasn't unusual for him to spend a full hour in the 'fresher just enjoying the feel of water beating against his skin. Or at least that was what Obi-Wan had always told himself. He'd rather not think of what Anakin had really been up to.

Within a week of arriving on Endor's watery moon, Obi-Wan had set up a new life for him and Luke. One that was relatively the same as their one on Roon. Obi-Wan's skills as a mechanic got him work in a village a few hours from the nearest spaceport and Luke was accepted readily by the other younglings his age. Their place in the village was made easier when Obi-Wan hinted that they had lost their home to the still expanding Empire. There was no shortage of people unhappy with the Empire on Endor; others who had lost their homes.

Obi-Wan settled himself and Luke into a routine as quick as possible because he wanted to keep things as consistent as possible for Luke. Even so, the fact that Luke was so adaptable made things infinitely easier for him. Luke barely even seemed to register any difference between their life on Roon and their new one. After the first week he had stopped asking for Tion and Zander and for Meryssa after the second. By then there were enough new people in Luke's life to keep him thoroughly distracted.

In less than a month it would be Luke's third birthday. Obi-Wan had set up a calendar next to Luke's bed and each night before he went to sleep the little boy would cross off that date. It was a simple task, but one that Luke seemed to enjoy immensely. Each night Luke would be bouncing on his bed, waiting as patiently as he was able for Obi-Wan to come so that he could mark off the date. Obi-Wan couldn't help but notice that as energetic as Luke was, he was also very disciplined, knowing that he wasn't allowed to mark off the box until Obi-Wan was there.

"T'morrow, Daddy!" Luke announced as he drew a rather lop-sided "X" through that day's box. "T'morrow I's three."

"That's right. You turn three tomorrow," Obi-Wan murmured as Luke crawled into his arms. "You'll be all grown up."

"Big boy!"

Obi-Wan chuckled at that. Luke was excited about turning three simply because of the fact that he would be three which was older than two. The only thing that Obi-Wan knew about his own third birthday was that he had started training as a Jedi soon afterwards. He had no actual memories of that time just as he was certain that Luke would not remember much of this time. At the moment, though, his third birthday was very important to Luke. To mark the occasion, Obi-Wan planned to take Luke to the same waterfalls and grotto he had taken Anakin to his for his thirteenth birthday. It was foolishly sentimental, but at the same time seemed quite fitting. It was as close as he could come to including Anakin in on his son's birthday.

Luke remained nestled on Obi-Wan's lap while the older man read him his bedtime story. It was one about a kidnapped princess, a space pirate, and a lost prince. Obi-Wan had read the story to the boy more times than he cared to count, but Luke always demanded it. Of all the other stories on that particular holobook it was the one that Luke wanted to hear the most. His favourite character was the space pirate who kept getting the prince out of trouble.

"Can I be a pirate when I's big?" Luke asked around a yawn as Obi-Wan finished the story.

"You want to be a pirate?" Obi-Wan echoed, sounding dutifully impressed. "Do you know how to fly a star fighter yet?"

Luke's features scrunched up as he tried to think of a way around this problem. Less than a minute later his face brightened, tiredness seemingly forgotten. "You teach me!"

"What if I don't know how to fly a star fighter?"

Obi-Wan had to swallow a laugh as Luke rolled his eyes dramatically at his denial. Luke looked well and truly put out that Obi-Wan would try and deny knowing how to fly a space craft.

"Yer Red Leader," Luke said as though it were the most obvious thing ever.

It took every ounce of will power for Obi-Wan to keep from reacting to Luke's revelation. There was no way that Luke could have known about his call name from the end of the wars. It wasn't something that he had spoken about in the last three years. Ben Kenobi wasn't a general or even a fighter. He was a widower raising his young son and fixing machines to earn credits. Ben Kenobi certainly didn't know how to fly.

"What's a Red Leader?" Obi-Wan asked once he was sure he wouldn't betray anything with his voice.

"You are," Luke insisted. "You fly ships. You an' someone else. I don't know him."

Obi-Wan managed to distract Luke then, turning the conversation back towards space pirates. Having met a few in his time, Obi-Wan told Luke some of the less risqué tales while he waited for the little boy to fall asleep.

That night, Obi-Wan lay in his bed for a long while, his mind playing over what Luke had said to him. It was impossible for Luke to have known his call name. It had never been mentioned. Obi-Wan had made sure to never even mention the fact that he'd flown a space fighter before because that wasn't something Ben Kenobi would have done. The fact that he didn't like flying was one of the few things that hadn't been pure fabrication when he'd created a past for himself and Luke.

Yet somehow Luke had known.

The fact that Luke had known meant that he was far more powerful than Obi-Wan had originally thought. As a result, Obi-wan couldn't help but wonder just what Luke's midichlorian count was. Had things not gotten so far out of control, but Luke and Leia would have been tested upon birth to determine just how strong in the Force they were. The fact that Luke seemed to be accessing abilities without much effort hinted at him sharing Anakin's strong abilities in the Force. If Obi-Wan began Luke's training then, as it would have been during the time of the Republic, Luke would become just as powerful, if not moreso, than Anakin because he wouldn't have two different lives he was torn between. The greatest downfall in Anakin's training was that he had never been able to distance himself from the life he had lived on Tatooine. It was a part of who Anakin was. And while Obi-Wan had never wanted to change Anakin as a person, as a Jedi he was severely lacking.

However, the Jedi were no more and even when they had existed their methods were very outdated. Anakin was proof of that. So much would have been averted if Anakin and Padmé had been allowed their relationship. Obi-Wan had known that the Jedi Code was failing. It was far too outdated, but the Jedi themselves refused to see that. Even Master Yoda, who had always been so far-seeing, had been unable to see the flaws in the Code until it was too late. The Jedi had failed Anakin and in doing so they had failed the Republic.

Obi-Wan was determined not to fail Luke. The boy had already lost too much already even if he didn't know it yet.


	6. Part V

In the safety of his rooms, free from any type of video surveillance, Vader set about removing the frightening black mask that caused nearly as much terror as the sound of his breathing. Setting aside the cowl, his gloved fingers immediately returned to the clasps that held the mask itself together. There was a quiet hiss as he unclasped the two sides, pressurized air escaping into the room. Vader held the mask in place for a moment, allowing himself to become used to breathing on his own. It was a few minutes before he carefully removed both parts of his breathing mask and set them down with his cowl.

Three years had passed since he had last seen his face. At first he had been unable to remove the mask except for the treatments the medical droids insisted upon. Afterwards it just became habit. Through touch he knew that it was bad. His hair was all gone and there were two massive scars, one on the top of his head and the other on his right cheekbone. Vader had never seen them, though. He had never wanted to.

Three years ago that very day Padmé and his child had been stolen from him. His son or daughter would have been celebrating its third birthday. He couldn't help but feel nostalgic for what might have been. Would the child have taken after him or Padmé? Would it have been its own little person? Would he have been a good father? Vader scowled, his fists clenching. It was pointless to think about such things because it would never be. Padmé was dead and their child was dead and no amount of wishing would bring them back.

Crossing his room, Vader snatched down the black cloth that had covered the mirror in the 'fresher. The face he saw staring back at him was shocking at first, but not so frightening as he had always imagined it to be. It had always surprised him that his nose hadn't burned off when the rest of his face became enflamed.

What surprised Vader the most was the sight of his eyes. They were reptilian, the blue that he remembered replaced with red and gold. Vader couldn't help but wonder if those were the same eyes Obi-Wan had seen on Mustafar. There had been several times they had been close enough that it would have been impossible for Obi-wan to not have seen his eyes. In comparison, the rest of the changes his face had undertaken were minor.

The same could not be said for his body. Up until the previous year, Vader had relied on medical droids to bathe. There had been no need for him to look at his body when others were attending to it. Adjusting to his prosthetic arm at twenty had been difficult enough. Fascinated as he had always been with machinery, having it as a part of himself had taken some time to get used to. It was only in the past year that he had truly begun to examine his body.

At first Vader had been disgusted by the sight of it. As Anakin he had always taken great care of his body as it had always been as much of a weapon as his lightsaber. Had it just been the lower parts of his extremities that were missing, Vader would have eventually been able to cope with the loss. In the years since Mustafar, his muscles had lost a lot of their definition and strength and his flesh…. Vain or not, there was no mistaking the way the fire had warped his body. Thick scars, mottled skin tones, no hair whatsoever, deformed features; all a result of lying on the heated rocks that made up the shores of the lava beds.

Once he had gotten over the shock of it, and had managed to escape Sidious' watchful eye for a few days, Vader had traveled to Kamino, hoping to have the cloners there help to rectify his problems. It had been a useless trip, though. Vader had always assumed that the lack of new clone troopers in recent years had been because they were no longer needed once the wars had finished. The truth, he discovered, was that Sidious had destroyed all of the clone factories and beings who knew the science of creating them.

It was then that Vader realized just how dependent Sidious was attempting to keep him. If he had new limbs and organs to replace the ruined ones, Vader would no longer have to rely on the Emperor's medical droids and special pressurized rooms to stay alive. He would have been free again. Soon after, Vader had begun weaning himself off the ventilators that had been doing most of his breathing for him since the fires of Mustafar had ravaged his lungs. There was nothing he could do for the rest of his body, but being able to breathe on his own was the most significant hurdle he would have to overcome.

And Vader was nothing if not determined.

* * *

Obi-Wan didn't think that he had ever seen Luke's eyes so big. The two of them were standing near the base of one of the large waterfalls; the same one Obi-Wan had stood before thirteen years earlier on an entirely different birthday.

"Big," Luke gasped at last, his eyes never wavering from the sight of the waterfall.

"That it most certainly is," Obi-Wan agreed. Crouching down so he was closer to the little boy's height, he continued, "I took a friend of mine here for his birthday a very long time ago and he said the exact same thing. Big."

"Big."

After a few more minutes, the initial shock of the waterfall's size wore off and Luke was bounding towards the pool at its base, demanding to go swimming. Obi-Wan had barely even reached the shore and Luke already had his tunic off and was working valiantly on his boots.

"Daddy, help!" Luke cried plaintively when one of the buckles refused to come unfastened.

Chuckling, Obi-Wan dropped down to one knee and dutifully began to help Luke with his boots. Impatient as always, while Obi-Wan was doing that, Luke flopped down onto his back and began wiggling out of his trousers. He got them and his undergarments down as far as his knees, his legs twitching up and down while he waited for Obi-Wan to finish. The instant that Obi-Wan had both of his boots off, Luke wiggled out of his trousers then scrambled to his feet.

"Come on, Daddy! Swim!"

Keeping an eye on Luke to make sure he didn't swim out too far, Obi-Wan stripped down as well. He already knew that it would be several hours before he would be able to draw Luke out of the water. His little fish would spend all day in the water if he was allowed. Obi-Wan often marveled how it was possible that Luke had not yet developed gills. He hoped that he would one day be able to take Luke to visit the Gungans. The little boy would be completely at home in that environment once he got used to using a rebreather.

Obi-Wan dutifully turned his back to Luke when he dipped under the water and began swimming towards him, pretending to be shocked when there were sudden a pair of arms wrapped around his neck. He slipped down into the water a bit, supposedly from the shock of Luke's attack. The blonde's laughter was joyful even as he sputtered out a mouthful of water.

"Daddy, who's da man wif sad eyes?" Luke asked, still clutching tight to Obi-Wan's neck. It was a surprisingly solemn question given his enthusiasm only moments before.

"Sad eyes?" Obi-Wan echoed, shifting the little boy around so that Luke was now floating in front of him.

Luke nodded emphatically. "Pretty eyes like th' water. Only sad."

The only person Obi-Wan could think of who matched that description was Anakin. It was impossible for Luke to know what he looked like, though. All the images Luke would have seen of him would have been more heroic shots. After all, Anakin had been the Hero With No Fear and it would hardly due to have him appear melancholy on the HoloNet. It had always saddened Obi-Wan that he never had a holoimage of Anakin. The other man had been the most important person in his life for thirteen years and Obi-Wan didn't have a single thing to remember him by.

Except for Luke.

As much as Obi-Wan loved the little boy, there were moments that he found himself longing to hear Anakin's voice or to see him smile. And knowing that the man who had once been his best friend was still alive pained him even more. Because it was his fault that Vader existed. He had been a failure as a master, the fact that such a kind and generous boy had become so evil proof enough of that. Had Qui Gon lived to train Anakin, Obi-Wan was certain that the galaxy wouldn't have been in such dire straights. Qui Gon would have kept Anakin from falling. He would have trained the Chosen One properly and the Force would be in balance. Luke would have his father.

"Don't be sad, Daddy," Luke implored, kissing Obi-Wan on the cheek.

If Luke would have even existed at all in such a reality.

Obi-Wan pressed a kiss to Luke's forehead. "I don't mean to be sad. I was only thinking of a friend I had long ago. He was very dear to me, but someone very evil took him away."

For several long moments Luke was silent, his young features an absolutely study of concentration. Then, as if coming to a decision, he nodded his head. "He still loves you, Daddy."

In the next instant, Luke dove out of his arms, the seriousness of only a minute before completely forgotten. Even Anakin—who Obi-Wan instinctively knew was the man with the sad eyes –was forgotten and Luke was once again swimming about as happily as any fish.

The rest of the day continued without incident. Luke emerged from the water periodically to create fortresses in the sand that he would immediately stomp all over upon completion. The rest of the time he was either bounding through the surf or swimming blissfully in the water. Obi-Wan himself was equally content. The day was the most relaxing that he could remember in a long while. Even the memories of his and Anakin's own day spent there didn't pain him as he watched Luke play in the water. Because he knew that Anakin would have been proud of Luke. Anakin also would have been glad that his son was allowed such a happy childhood; one so different from his own upbringing.

It was close to sunset when Obi-Wan was finally able to coax Luke away from the waterfall and even then only because the boy was barely able to keep his eyes open. He cradled the small boy against his chest as he returned to his speeder bike to begin the journey home. And futile as he knew it was to have such desires, Obi-Wan couldn't help but hope that he and Luke would be able to return there for the child's next birthday. Even if they were no longer living in the Endor system, Obi-Wan wanted to be able to bring Luke back to that same location the following year.

The long ride back to their village gave Obi-Wan time to think. In particular it gave him time to contemplate Luke's rather strong, and seemingly unconscious, abilities in the Force. Even if he hadn't wanted to admit to it at first, Luke had been picking up on Obi-Wan's own thoughts. That alone spoke volumes about how lax his shields had become. Back before he had become Ben Kenobi, even Anakin had been unable to see beyond his shields. The younger man had certainly made the effort to see what he was hiding, but a lifetime of practice had made Obi-Wan's shields quite formidable. Except, it seemed, to Luke.

More than ever Obi-Wan wished that he could consult Master Yoda. That wise old troll would know what was going on and could help train Luke. After his failure with Anakin, Obi-Wan was no longer certain that he trusted his instincts where training a padawan was concerned. He had decided to instruct Luke only where necessary. Enough to give him control, but not enough so that Luke was aware that there was anything unusual about his abilities. He wanted Luke to be a normal little boy. A time would come later when Luke would have to be informed of his heritage, but that would not be for many years.

* * *

The sense of peace Vader had always experienced in Theed wasn't present the third year after Padmé's death. Standing inside her mausoleum, staring down at her beautiful, stasis-maintained face, was the only time Vader ever felt anything remotely resembling peace. She appeared so relaxed that Vader could almost convince himself that she was merely asleep and that at any moment her eyes would flutter open and she'd smile up at him. It as an image Vader could see so clearly in his mind, but through his red-tinged vision he could only see the truth. Padmé was dead. It was no peaceful sleep that kept her from him, but death.

The first time he had gone to Theed as Vader it had been in search of an absolution. He had not received it, but simply staring at Padmé's face had become a yearly meditation that healed some jagged hurt deep inside.

That third year had been no different until he had attempted to see the face of his child. Vader had never before felt the need to give their child a face. It had been easier to simply envision the infant with Padmé's features; a little girl who would have been as beautiful as her mother. Likewise, it had been his own face he had seen upon his son. However, now all that Vader could see were his own ruined features.

So for the first time he had reached out through the Force to hopefully see the true face of his child. Only there had been nothing to see. The swell of Padmé's stomach, which he had always assumed to be the shape of their child, was artificial. Padmé had died after giving birth, not before. The child had lived.

"_There is no sign of Kenobi on Roon. There was a Ben Kenobi, but he was too young to be the Jedi and has a child. He's a mechanic."_

"_I have it on good authority that Master Kenobi was never very proficient with the mechanical arts. All the same, I want him brought to Coruscant."_

"_My lord, we are no longer on the Roon system. We left it three standard days ago."_

"_Then return to it and snatch this man. The child too. It might be of some use to us if the father proves difficult."_

"_Yes, my lord."_

Obi-Wan had his child. His child. Like so much else, Obi-Wan had stolen that from him. The father and child—a son some voice whispered in his mind –who had been found on Roon had been Obi-Wan and his son. Vader's son. The child that Padmé had given birth to, Obi-Wan had stolen.

It wasn't until he caught sight of some tumbling rubble at the edges of his vision that Vader realized just how angry he was. He hadn't been that enraged since he had first learned that Padmé had died at his hand. But that couldn't have been true. If he had killed her, she wouldn't have lived to deliver their son. Mother and child would have died together.

What it did mean, however, was that Sidious had lied to him and that the Jedi had killed her. That Sidious would lie to him was not difficult for Vader to comprehend. The man had been doing it for almost two decades. The only thing that Sidious truly cared about was bettering his own power. Angry and disillusioned as he had been with the Jedi, though, Vader had never thought that they would kill Padmé. Obi-Wan in particular had always seemed to care about the Nubian Senator. He had risked his life for her many times and that day on Mustafar had tried to stop Vader from killing her. Obi-Wan couldn't have killed her. Mace might have, but he had already been dead at the time. No, Obi-Wan would have tried to save her; that much Vader knew.

He supposed he should be grateful to Obi-Wan for saving his son.

Whatever minimal trust had remained for the Emperor was no more. Sidious had lied about how Padmé had died and Vader was certain that he'd known about the child's birth. It was the only reason to explain why he'd sent the clones back after Ben Kenobi and his son.

It was just something else that Sidious was keeping from him. More and more Vader was seeing through the lies the Dark Lord spun. He wondered how he could have been fool not to see those same faults before. He had destroyed everything that he loved and cared about because he had believed Sidious' lies. He had destroyed the Republic because of Sidious' lives. The very thing he had fought and bled for and had nearly given his life for had been brought down after one thousand years because of him.

That night, when he left Naboo in his own personal shuttle, Vader didn't return to Coruscant as he'd originally intended. He still wasn't as strong as he'd wanted to be when he finally made a move against Sidious, but after that day's revelation he could no longer stomach the idea of remaining subservient to the monster who had kept him from the truth for so long.

Turning off the respirator, Vader waited a moment until he was once again breathing under his own power. "I'll find our boy, Padmé. I promise."

The only response Vader received was the fading echo of his own voice. Padmé's face remained impassive as ever. For several long minutes he continued to gaze down at her, hoping for the peace she usually brought him to return, at least momentarily. It didn't happen. However, for the first time in years, Vader felt a renewed sense of purpose. He would find Obi-Wan and his son. The small boy he would protect from Sidious and his evil machinations, Obi-Wan he would destroy. Obi-Wan had said that they were brothers, yet the older man had still kept his son from him. And Obi-Wan had probably been glad to do it. He had always criticized him for having too many attachments.

"You will not poison my son against me," Vader insisted as he turned away from his wife's still body.

* * *

"You never tol' me who th' man wif the sad eyes is," Luke yawned as Obi-Wan pulled the blankets up over him.

Obi-Wan was silent for a moment, trying to decide just what he would tell Luke. In that instant, he found that he couldn't bear creating yet another story. "That man was my best friend. His name was Anakin and a very bad man named Darth Vader killed him. Anakin was a very good man. The best that I knew. He was very kind and protected who couldn't protect themselves. And I know for a fact that he would have loved you."

Luke yawned again and demanded that Obi-Wan tell him about how he'd met Anakin. Obi-Wan told the truth as best he could. As yet, Luke had no understanding of slavery (something Obi-Wan hoped would always hold true) and couldn't know anything about the Jedi, so Obi-Wan told him about the pod race Anakin had won on Tatooine.

"…. To this day he is the only human I've ever heard of who finished a pod race. And he did it when he was only nine years old…."


	7. Part VI

Each day it seemed that Luke changed in some way. It was a truly amazing thing to see a child start to become their own person. Luke was very adamant about what he did and didn't like. If Luke didn't like a certain food, he would simply refuse to eat it. No amount of cajoling on Obi-Wan's part would get him to relent. Even if it meant that he would get no treat afterwards, Luke would not eat anything his palate found unattractive. It was a trait that he had most definitely inherited from his father. Anakin had always been the most finicky eater, completely unable to comprehend the idea of rich sauces and exotic flavors. His young partner's favourite food had always been the plain, simple fare at Dex's. Luke was exactly the same and Obi-Wan was certain that he would have loved Dex's special.

A trait that Luke seemed to have inherited from both of his parents was his desire for peace. His method of gaining it, though, was one of the few traces of Padmé that could be seen in the little boy. While he would not shy way from open conflicts, Luke was much more comfortable when he could negotiate peace between his friends. Obi-Wan couldn't help but wonder what Anakin would have thought of his son being called "The Little Negotiator." Obi-Wan himself found it both amusing and bittersweet, especially knowing that it was their surname of Kenobi which had caused the adults to give the boy the name. And even though he was not yet three and a half years old, Luke himself took pride in the name, his face splitting into a wide grin whenever he heard it.

"Daddy, we 'lated to the real N'gotator?" Luke asked one night at dinner.

Swallowing the food already in his mouth, Obi-Wan paused to consider how best to answer the question. The truth was what he would have preferred. Even after more than three years it still pained him to hide the truth from the boy whom he loved above all else. Were the choice his, Luke would have always known the truth of his parentage. Unfortunately, the boy had been (and still was) too young to understand the truth and was now at an age when he would not understand why he should keep the truth a secret from others. After all, what boy didn't want to be the son of the Hero With No Fear.

Sidious had made sure that all of his Empire knew the extent of the Jedi's betrayal of its greatest hero. The "murder" of Anakin Skywalker's wife and child was seen as great a tragedy as the man's own demise. The fact that Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader was something known only to a few beings in all the galaxy. In fact, Obi-Wan was certain that only himself, Sidious and Vader knew the truth. One day Luke would know as well, but that time had not yet come.

"We very well could be, Luke," Obi-Wan responded vaguely. "According to the stories, the Negotiator was taken from his family when he was just a little boy. Even younger than you. He could be my brother, but I wouldn't known it because my parents—your grandparents –died when I was young. I don't know if I had a brother. Would you like it if he was your uncle?"

Luke nodded his head vigorously, nearly upsetting the fork-full of noodles he had just wrestled into submission. "Uh huh. He's one of the bestest heroes. Ever."

"Oh really?" This time amusement won out and Obi-Wan couldn't keep the wide grin from his face. "And what about Anakin Skywalker? The Hero With No Fear?"

"No fear's bad," Luke announced before shoving his fork into his mouth. "Dane-der-us."

"Don't talk with your mouth full," Obi-Wan reminded him automatically. "And, you're right, it is very dangerous. Dangerous or not, he was still one of the good guys."

"The other bestest."

Obi-Wan was certain that Anakin would have been thrilled with the fact that Luke thought he was a great hero. He would have loved every moment of being a father. Obi-Wan could still remember how at ease he had always been among the younglings. They had worshipped him and he had enjoyed spending time with them. No matter what their age Anakin always treated them as though they were adults, never talking down to them. Obi-Wan had taken his cues on raising Luke from Anakin's treatment of the younglings. Even as an infant, Obi-Wan had talked to Luke as though he were fully aware of everything. There were things that needed to be edited, true enough, but he didn't shield Luke from the realities of the world. He hoped that it would make Luke a stronger person in the end.

"Hey, Luke, how would you like to go to the big waterfall tomorrow?"

* * *

Vader didn't know what brought him to Endor. It had been years since he'd even thought of the brief trip he'd taken to that planet when he was thirteen. When he was a boy it had been the greatest trip of his life. Of all the planets he had visited with his Master, Endor had always stood out. At least until Padmé had returned to his life. Their trip to Naboo and everything that had followed after had taken the commanding space in his memories, the past that he and Obi-Wan had shared pushed into the background.

Now Obi-Wan was the only one left from his past. His mother and wife were both dead and, mostly likely, so was his child. Despite his original belief that the child with Ben Kenobi was his own, Vader was no longer quite so certain. Obi-Wan was nothing if not overly compassionate. Chances were it was an orphan that Obi-Wan had come across in his travels; a Force sensitive child that he could turn into another emotionless drone of the now-defunct Jedi Order.

But, unwilling as he was to admit to it, the boy would be well cared for. There were very few complaints Vader had as a result of being raised by Obi-Wan. After the initial awkwardness, Obi-Wan had come to genuinely care for him. And though he didn't like to admit to it now, as Anakin Skywalker, he had cared for Obi-Wan as well. There was a time that he would have given his life to protect the older man. Not any longer, though. Obi-Wan had destroyed his life and he planned on making the older man suffer for it when they met again.

They would meet again. Vader wouldn't rest until he made sure Obi-Wan suffered just as much as he had over the past three years. Obi-Wan had destroyed his body and taken his life, he deserved to suffer greatly for those crimes. As Anakin Skywalker he wouldn't have been able to achieve his vengeance, but as Darth Vader he would ensure that Obi-Wan finally received his comeuppance.

It was a struggle for Vader to hold onto his determination as he stood at the base of the falls that had awed him in his youth. The rational part of his mind knew that he should leave Endor before his sentimentality was able to sway him from the path he knew he should take. He needed to bring Obi-Wan down.

Taking a risk, Vader brought his hands up to his mask and began to unfasten the clasps. He had never removed it in a natural environment, but in that moment he longed to feel the mist that particular waterfall created against his skin. The removal of his gloves would have been best, however, thanks to Obi-Wan, he no longer had flesh hands with which to feel anything.

The feel of real air filling his lungs was a shock that Vader hadn't expected. It was very rare indeed when he wasn't on some star cruiser and had become used to the pressurized air as a result. In a way, the unfiltered felt lighter, if such a thing was possible. Breathing unassisted was still a strain on his recovering lungs, but it was not as difficult at the moment. The shudder that his lungs normally took with each intake of breath was minimal and he didn't find himself wheezing with each exhale.

If he closed his eyes, Vader could almost convince himself that his body was still whole and that it hadn't been ravaged by the fires of Mustafar. However, he was not so delusional as to fall victim to such fantasies and quickly opened his eyes. There was no point in becoming sentimental because of a location. Fond memories or not, Obi-Wan was still the man to have stolen his life. And when they met again, Vader would kill him. He could do nothing else. Even out from Sidious immediate control, Vader hadn't yet gained his complete independence. He wouldn't have that until he could survive indefinitely without being bound to the black suit which kept him alive.

Vader was aware of what Sidious would read into his visiting Endor on what would have been Anakin Skywalker's 27th birthday. The Sith lord would blame it on a sentimentality that he'd spent the past seventeen years eradicating from him. Vader preferred not to think of what the consequences of that would be.

His senses no longer as sharp as they had been, Vader didn't hear the speeder until it was nearly in the clearing. Rebreather mask clutched tightly in durasteel hands, Vader disappeared into the surrounding forest. He needed to replace his mask before he could depart. He was using an open-air speeder that would take him back to his transport and he wasn't quite ready to chance his still-healing lungs at such high speeds.

Not giving the new arrivals much thought, Vader lifted the wretched face plate into position, hooking it into its proper slats on the neck of his suit.

"I do wish that you would wait for me to stop before vaulting off the bike," an all too familiar voice chuckled. "You'll get there even if you have to wait a precious few seconds for me to stop."

"Let's go, Daddy!"

There was giggling and through the foliage, Vader could make out the shape of a small child running towards the shore of the pool. Setting his mask aside, Vader slowly crept closer to the edge of the forest, his mental shields locked as strong as possible to ensure that Obi-Wan couldn't sense him. Because it was Obi-Wan who was in the clearing, of that Vader had no doubt.

"Slow down, Luke!" Obi-Wan called after the boy, laughing at the antics Vader couldn't quite see. "You need to sit down to take off your boots or you're going to topple over. Luke!"

Vader startled when he heard the boy's name. Luke. It was one of the names he had Padmé had discussed for their unborn child. There had only been time for a few brief conversations, but the last names they had decided on were Luke for a boy and Leia for a girl. It was no mere coincidence that Obi-Wan was playing the father to a boy named Luke.

The air around him began to crackle as a rage Vader thought he had repressed rose to the surface. Relieved as he was that his child had survived Padmé's death, he didn't want his son believing another to be his father. He should know the truth of his heritage. That he was the son of the greatest hero of the Clone Wars and the greatest senator to ever serve the now-defunct Republic.

"Daddy, swim now!"

There was a splash of water that accompanied the entreaty so Vader glanced towards the pool that was created by the waterfall. And in doing so saw his son for the first time. The first thought Vader had was that Luke was short, even for a three year old. But then, he had been short until he reached his mid-teens. In the brief flashes Vader could see through the leaves, he could glimpse very little of Padmé in the boy. Vader could only see the man he had once been reflected in the joyful features of his son. Luke was happy, truly happy in a way that Vader couldn't remember being as a child. Luke was bounding through the water without a care, laughing uproariously and insisting that Obi-Wan join him.

Knowing Obi-Wan as well as he did, Vader honestly didn't expect him to comply with the boy's wishes. So it was with utter shock that he watched the older man dive naked into the pool, much to the boy's delight. Obi-Wan himself was grinning widely as he emerged from the water. Without a beard and his hair cropped short, Obi-Wan looked as young as he had when they'd first met more than a lifetime ago. The smile made him younger even because even when he'd first known Obi-Wan Kenobi he had already become set in his reserved ways. It was a shock to see Obi-Wan smiling and laughing, cavorting in the water without a care for who might see him.

And while every instinct was screaming for him to charge forward and confront his former master, Vader remained hidden in the trees. Watching. Watching as his son played. Watching as Obi-Wan guarded over him. Watching as Luke called for his father's attention. Watching as Obi-Wan lived the life that was his by rights.

Watching until the right moment came to strike.

* * *

It seemed a proper thing to do to take Luke to the falls on what would have been Anakin's 27th birthday. It was a small thing, but he wanted to acknowledge his friend's birthday in some way. He wanted to make sure that Luke knew that day was special. Obi-Wan would have done something for Padmé's birthday as well, but had been saddened to realize that he didn't know when her birthday was. All of the years he'd known her and he didn't know when her birthday was.

"Daddy, swim now!" Luke shouted as he sprinted towards the water.

As his little fish commanded, Obi-Wan could do nothing but comply. Obi-Wan stripped down and dove into the water. He opened his eyes while he was still underwater, searching out Luke and angled his body that way so that when he emerged he was able to scoop Luke up into his arms.

"Daddy!" Luke shrieked in delight, winding his arms and legs around Obi-Wan in a tight grip. "Again! Again!"

Spinning about in a circle, Obi-Wan flopped back into the water. He didn't submerge himself completely and managed to keep both his and Luke's heads above the water. Not that Luke would have noticed if they had gone under. As it was, Luke was giggling madly, his whole face alight with joy. Obi-Wan himself wasn't able to make himself as carefree as he normally was. Something was off. Obi-Wan couldn't quite figure out what it was, but there was something niggling in the back of his mind. As though he and Anakin were being watched. Reaching out through the Force, Obi-Wan could sense nothing beyond the usual wildlife that inhabited the surrounding forest.

Pushing such unproductive thoughts away, Obi-Wan turned his attention back to Luke. It was important that Luke enjoy himself. He wanted Luke to have happy memories of his father's birthday.

Once he had managed to coax Luke out of the water for a bit, Obi-Wan started telling him about Anakin. Silly little stories that honestly had no meaning, but that were parts of the life he and Anakin had lived. About the little droid Anakin had built when he was twelve that would clean his room. It had been a handy little thing, that Obi-Wan himself had used more than once until Anakin had dismantled it after it threw out some of the other little devices he had been working on, thinking they were garbage. Anakin winning the pod race on Malestare that he didn't think Obi-Wan knew he entered. Obi-Wan didn't get any further than that because Luke immediately demanded to know everything about pod racing. Obi-Wan could only shake his head in wonder. Like father like son.

"I can tell you now that you are not getting anywhere near a pod racer," Obi-Wan informed the boy.

"Daddee," Luke whined, his face scrunching up. "Fast is fun."

"Fast is fun?" Obi-Wan echoed, shaking his head in disbelief. "Oh, Luke, you will be the death of me."

At the moment, Luke was far too young to understand the true meaning of his words. He just grinned and asked if he could maybe drive one when he got older. Obi-Wan merely shook his head and pointed out a small lizard scurrying about near the edge of the water. As predicted, Luke took off after the green creature immediately, trying to catch the poor thing as it darted about the wet sand.

Even as he kept an eye on Luke, Obi-Wan couldn't stop his mind from wandering to all the times he'd told Anakin the exact same thing. It had always been said jokingly, Obi-Wan never realizing just how drastic a turn their relationship would take. In the end he had been the one to kill Anakin. Or Vader. At the end Obi-Wan had had a hard time distinguishing between the two. Just before the flames had started, Obi-Wan had seen a brief flicker of blue in those frightening reptilian eyes. It had passed so fast that, with the distance that separated them, Obi-Wan had been almost certain that he had imagined it. There was no way that he could have seen such a thing with how far away he'd been standing.

"Daddy, look! I catched it!" Luke shouted as he brandished the squirming lizard. "Can I keep him?"

"And just where will you keep him?" Obi-Wan asked as he heaved himself to his feet.

"In the 'fresher. We can bring sand home and some flowers. And I'll catch him bugs to eat," Luke rambled on, his eyes never wavering from his new little friend.

"If you keep him in the 'fresher, where will you and I take baths?"

The wide grin told Obi-Wan all that he needed to know. As much as he loved the water and swimming, Luke had never been a fan of baths. Obi-Wan suspected it was the soap and the fact that it required him to get clean.

"If you want to keep him, you'll have to find another place for him to live," Obi-Wan said, doing his best to contain a smile.

"The salad bowl?"

"Try again, little man."

"Sink."

"Not happening."

"In the glass bowl where my fish used to live?"

"How about we just let him live here?" Obi-Wan suggested. "It is his home, after all."

Luke pouted about it for a moment, then set the lizard back down on the sand.

Obi-Wan ruffled Luke's damp hair, smiling down at him. "Don't worry, we'll come back and visit him."

* * *

From the shadows, Vader watched it all. It enraged him that Obi-Wan was masquerading as Luke's father, but what he couldn't figure out was why Obi-Wan was telling him about Anakin. It made no sense whatsoever. If Obi-Wan was going to pretend to be the boy's shoulder he shouldn't have told Luke about his real father. It would only end badly when Luke found out the truth. Because he would. Vader would make sure of it. Obi-Wan would pay for what he'd done.

All of it.


	8. Part VII

Obi-Wan couldn't shake the uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. For several days now there had been a strange sensation niggling in the back of his mind. It was familiar, but not enough for Obi-Wan to be able to pinpoint its source. In the end, all that it did was frustrate him and make him overly paranoid.

It was not yet to the point where he felt the need to leave the planet. Luck had kept them from being tracked on their journey from Roon to Endor. He wasn't going to risk a second retreat until he was sure that there was something chasing them. Still, Obi-Wan could tell that something was amiss, so kept a closer eye on Luke. While he may not yet have known the source, he could sense that Luke was the focus of the increasingly dark energy. There was something near, or possibly already on, Endor that could sense Luke's power and was focusing on him. Obi-Wan was grateful for the fact that Luke seemed unaware of it thus far. There was nothing unusual in the boy's behavior.

Or so Obi-Wan believed until the night he woke up to the sound of Luke screaming.

When he was an infant, Luke may have cried out when he was hungry or in need of a change, but he had never screamed in such absolute terror. Obi-Wan was out of bed and on his feet in an instant, rushing towards Luke's room with his lightsaber firmly in hand. Given the unease he'd been experiencing lately, Obi-Wan had taken to keeping his lightsaber close by when he slept. He didn't want to waste the time it would take to retrieve it from its regular hiding place if Luke was in danger.

Expecting to see some henchman of Sidious', Obi-Wan was almost relieved to see Luke sitting up in the middle of his bed sobbing.

"Daddy!" Luke hiccupped, reaching both hands towards Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan hadn't managed to sit down before Luke launched himself into his arms. He was wound tight around Obi-Wan, arms and legs both, snuffling wetly into his shoulder.

"I've got you, Luke. I've got you," Obi-Wan soothed, murmuring into the rumpled blonde hair. "Whatever it was, Luke, it was a just a dream. Nothing can hurt you now that you're awake."

"Didn't wanna die. Didn't wanna die," Luke whimpered, pressing himself even closer to Obi-Wan. "Too scared."

Having no idea what Luke was talking about, Obi-Wan gently probed his thoughts. What he saw stole his breath. Luke had seen Mustafar. Had seen the flames consume what was left on Anakin's body. It was an image that that still haunted Obi-Wan himself. All Anakin would have had to have done was said his name and he would have saved him. Turning and walking away from his best friend who had literally been dying before him was the hardest thing Obi-Wan had ever had to do.

Yet it did not explain where Luke's nightmare had come from.

"Who's da sad man?" Luke sniffled against his shoulder once his tears had subsided.

Obi-Wan squeezed his eyes shut tight, wishing for all the galaxy that he didn't have to answer the question. It was impossible for him to explain Anakin. They had been so much to each other over their thirteen year history. Rival siblings, father and son, brothers, enemies. Through it all, Obi-Wan had loved him. Even in those last few desperate moments he'd loved Anakin.

"The sad man's name is Anakin Skywalker," Obi-Wan said at last. "He was my best friend."

"The Hero Wiff No Fear?"

Obi-Wan couldn't help but grin at the awe he heard in Luke's voice. "The Hero With No Fear."

"How didja know him?" Luke murmured, snuggling closer.

"I fought beside him. On more planets than I can recall," Obi-Wan mused, relieved to be telling Luke the truth even if it was likely that he wouldn't remember in the morning. "He saved my life many times, but in the end I couldn't save him."

* * *

Standing just outside his son's bedroom window, Vader seethed. Luke was supposed to be screaming to get away from Obi-Wan, not screaming for him. He had shown Luke Mustafar specifically to drive a wedge between them. Luke should not be so trusting of the man who had stolen him from his parents. Obi-Wan was hiding him away like a secret and would only use him as a weapon when he was older. He would use Luke to try and destroy the Sith.

Vader was startled when he felt a sudden pressure against his shields. It wasn't Obi-Wan, though. Vader had learned to erect his shields in such a way that his former master couldn't penetrate them. It had become a necessity when he'd married Padmé and had become so much a part of his natural shielding that in the end the exception had been for Anakin to not block Obi-Wan from his mind.

But the presence was there regardless.

_Don't be sad._

Vader startled at the voice. He knew the voice and, by extension, the presence poking at his shields. His son. Not even four and Luke was already strong enough to be aware of his presence. Even if Obi-Wan had been training him from birth it was unlikely that Luke would have been able to accomplish such a feat without incredible natural talent. Greater than his own.

_He still loves you._

Reeling back, Vader stared at the side of the cabin for a long moment before stalking into the wilderness. He had to leave before his temper got the better of him. He didn't want to take his anger out on Luke. Not when it was really directed at Obi-Wan who was filling his son's head with such lies. He would just have to try again and find some way to prove to Luke that Obi-Wan wasn't worth his love.

The only bright spot Vader was able to focus on, aside from having found his son, was the fact that breathing was becoming easier. He was six hours without the mask and he wasn't yet struggling to breathe. Vader knew that it would still be some time before he could do without it completely, but it was a start.

He would prove to Obi-Wan that he was the stronger of them.

Prove it to Luke as well.

The boy would know that he came from greater stuff than Obi-Wan Kenobi. Obi-Wan would have been dead a thousand times over if Anakin hadn't saved him. He had been foolishly loyal to the older man, though. An infatuation that had grown from when they had first been officially saddled with each other. At nine, all that had registered with Anakin was that he was to be the Padawan of the Sith Killer Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Only now he was the Sith.

Obi-Wan would not defeat him.

* * *

It took Obi-Wan well over an hour to get Luke back to sleep. Luke had been filled to the brim with questions, wanting to know everything he could about Anakin. It seemed odd to him that Luke appeared to be avoiding the terror that he had witnessed only a short while before. Either Luke hadn't been fully able to comprehend what he had seen, or he was still young enough to be able to push such things aside.

What worried Obi-Wan most of all was just how Luke had been able to witness those last few minutes on Mustafar with such utter clarity. Obi-Wan himself kept those memories buried away deep in his mind, preferring to remember Anakin has he had been before and not the twisted creature he'd become. The only other beings that had been present were R2-D2, C-3PO and Padmé, yet none of them had been on the shores of the lava flow. The only other person was Anakin himself.

Stretching his mind out along the extremely tattered and frayed bond that Obi-Wan couldn't bring himself to severe, he searched for some sign of Anakin. The fact that the bond remained at all meant that Vader had never consciously let go of their bond. And that gave Obi-Wan hope. Hope that something of his friend remained lost in the monster.

Not wanting to bring too much attention to himself and Luke, Obi-Wan didn't press things when he came up against Vader's shields. However, the mere fact that Vader's shields were up so strong was worrisome. As Anakin he had only ever reinforced his shields so strongly when he was purposely hiding something or from someone. Given Luke's nightmare, Obi-Wan was suddenly worried that his former apprentice was on Endor.

And that he knew about Luke.

The thought was only half-formed in his mind when Obi-Wan began to act. Slamming his own mental shields into place, Obi-Wan began to pack up only the most basic of necessities that he and Luke would require for them to disappear once again. He would not risk Luke to the Emperor's intentions. Obi-Wan had promised to look after Luke and keep him safe and had every intention of following through on that vow.

Half way through his packing, Obi-Wan stopped. Vader knew where they were. More importantly, he knew about Luke. Obi-Wan would have expected Vader to come after Luke as soon as he sensed the boy's presence. Anakin had never been known for his patience, a trait Obi-Wan doubted he would have learned as Vader. The fact that Vader hadn't immediately attempted to abduct Luke gave him pause.

"What are you doing, Anakin?" Obi-Wan sighed as he slumped down onto his bed. "Why did you show Luke that?"

There was no answer forthcoming, not that Obi-Wan had expected one. Their bond was equally silent.

_I'm here, Anakin. I've been keeping him safe for you._

* * *

"I have permitted his little tantrum of yours long enough, Lord Vader. It's time that you return to Coruscant. You have five standard days."

Vader had watched the message half a dozen times, but as yet had not responded. Foolish as it was to ignore Sidious, it was even worse to deny him. And Vader had every intention of denying him. If he went back to Coruscant, Sidious would find out about Luke somehow and Vader had no intention of putting his son in danger. Luke was all that he had left of Padmé.

Regardless, he only had five days to decide what he was going to do about Obi-Wan and Luke. The fact that there was no quick answer frustrated him. A lifetime ago he would have left Luke in Obi-Wan's care without a second thought, believing that his son would be safer at his former master's side than anywhere else in the galaxy. Except that the lifetime had changed and Vader no longer trusted Obi-Wan as he once had.

Shaking his head in frustration, Vader made his way towards the falls. He needed to clear his head and when he'd still been fully human standing in the shower had been a way to do that. Vader only hoped that the sound of the crashing water would have the same effect.

* * *

Tempted as he was to keep Luke with him at all times, Obi-Wan wanted to keep things as normal as possible for the little boy. With any luck Vader would come after Obi-Wan himself first. It was the most likely scenario given Anakin's temper. Anakin was prone to taking out his frustrations on the source and at the moment that was him.

Leaving Luke in the care of one of the women in the village, Obi-Wan ventured towards the waterfall. He needed to figure out just what he was going to do now that he knew the source of the dark presence he'd been sensing. Disappearing again would have been the easiest choice. It would have ensured that Luke was safe. But it would have only been a temporary fix. Vader would track them down. They would just be running from one planet to another and Obi-Wan didn't want that for Luke. He wanted to be able to stay in one place while Luke grew up.

So focused on his own thoughts, Obi-Wan almost didn't see the figure sitting near the base of the waterfall. It took him another moment to realize just who it was seated on the large boulder just beyond the fall's spray. Squaring his shoulders, Obi-Wan stepped out of the foliage and towards the visitor.

"I'd tell you that I'm glad to see you well, but I doubt you'd believe me."

Vader whirled around, his eyes instantly locking on Obi-Wan. "You left me to die."

"Had you asked, I would not have," Obi-Wan said as he strode towards the man who had once been his best friend. "Even in the end I would have helped you, Anakin."

"My name is Vader," the scarred man ground out, rising to his feet and turning to face Obi-Wan completely. "Anakin Skywalker is the name of a dead man."

Obi-Wan crossed his arms over his chest, remaining where he was. "Murdered by you and your Emperor. Yes, I saw the footage on the security holofiles. But if Anakin is dead, what are you doing here?"

"You know why I'm here."

"Then kill me."

Obi-Wan stretched his arms out, the gesture made less dramatic than it would have been four years ago since he no longer wore his Jedi robes. He was genuinely surprised that Vader didn't reach for his lightsaber.

"You took my son from me!" Vader shouted, nostrils flaring and had his eyebrows still been present they would have been furrowed. "You took my son and you took Padmé!"

"I wish it were that simple," Obi-Wan sighed, his arms dropping. "Till her dying breath, Padmé believed that there was still good in you. But what happened on Mustafar… it broke something inside of her. She lived long enough to give birth to Luke and name him. She was even able to touch him once. So however briefly, Luke did know his mother. And he knows about the man you once were. The man who should have been his father."

Obi-Wan could feel the air around him rippling with dark energy.

"I am his father."

"Anakin Skywalker is his father," Obi-Wan corrected him.

"Anakin Skywalker is dead."

Obi-Wan shook his head sadly. "So you proved last night."

As he'd expected, that got Vader's attention. He stalked across the small distance that separated them, ending up only a few feet away from Obi-Wan. Close enough that Obi-Wan could hear the grinding of gears from Vader's mechanical limbs. That, and the scars on Vader's face were the only signs of the trauma he had undergone on Mustafar. The fearsome suit Obi-Wan remembered from the HoloNet footage had been replaced by a simple pair of black trousers and a black tunic. And just like Anakin, Vader wore the same leather gauntlets that Anakin had modified to feel the sensations that flesh would.

"I wanted Luke to know the truth about you," Vader informed him, bowing his head.

"Luke knows the truth. You did not need to terrify him because you were having a tantrum," Obi-Wan ground out. "Luke knows about Anakin, but he's too young to understand that I'm not his father. He's three and a half. All that he knows is that I'm the one who's been there his entire life. When he was older he would have learned the truth. Then it would have been up to him to decide. My only concern has always been keeping him safe from the Emperor."

Vader began to pace about, his expression closed off. "You kept him away from me. He's my son. He's all that I have left of Padmé."

"And if I'd arrived on Tatooine a day earlier Luke would either be dead or locked away somewhere at your new master's orders."

It was as close as Obi-Wan had come to giving into his temper thus far. He loved both Luke and Anakin and the thought of either the Emperor or Vader harming them brought out the anger that he'd always tried his best to release into the Force. After what had happened on Naboo with that demon Maul, Obi-Wan had taken special care to control his emotions to the best of his abilities. He didn't want to slip.

"I wouldn't have let him hurt Luke," Vader insisted, stopping to glare at Obi-Wan. "I love my son."

"Love him enough to show him that horror! He's a child and you forced him to witness his father's death and what was the worst moment of my life!" Obi-Wan shouted, his anger sneaking to the forefront. "I never wanted to hurt you! I begged Yoda to send me up against Sidious so that I wouldn't have to face you. You murdered my best friend!"

Vader stared at him with those frightening reptilian eyes, features clenched.

"One word," Obi-Wan sighed, shaking his head sadly. "One word from you and I would have doused those flames. I never wanted it to come to this. If you believe nothing else, believe that."

The two men continued to stare at one another for several long minutes. Just like that day on Mustafar, Obi-Wan could see the conflict in Vader. He could only hope that this time Vader wouldn't swallow that scream.

"Daddy!"


	9. Part VIII

For the first time during their meeting Obi-Wan felt a flush of fear. He moved quickly, aided by the Force, and snatched Luke up before Vader could get anywhere near him. Obi-Wan held Luke against his chest and angled his body so that the boy was turned away from Vader.

"If there is any shred of humanity left in you, leave the boy out of this," Obi-Wan pleaded, forcing himself to hold that reptilian gaze. "Luke has nothing to do with any of this."

"He's my son," Vader insisted, taking a half step towards them.

Obi-Wan backed away two steps. "He's Anakin Skywalker's son. I swore to his mother that I'd keep him safe. Even from you."

"Padmé loved me, she wouldn't say that," Vader ground out, the air around him all but crackling with dark energy.

"Padmé would not have said that about Anakin, no," Obi-Wan agreed, tracking Vader's every move carefully. "But you are no longer Anakin Skywalker and have said as much yourself. You were as much a stranger to Padmé as you are to Luke."

"Daddy, this the sad man?" Luke whispered in his ear.

Not taking his eyes off Vader, Obi-Wan shook his head. "No, Luke, this isn't the sad man. He's too angry."

Peering over Obi-Wan's shoulder, Luke examined Vader with eyes far too perceptive for a little boy.

* * *

Daddy had never been scared before. Not that he could remember. Daddy was the bravest and smartest of all the Daddies. But Daddy was scared then. Of the Sad Man. Daddy said it wasn't the Sad Man, but he knew it was. It was just the Sad Man being all scary 'cause he thought he was s'posed to be. The Sad Man didn't need to be scary for Daddy and him.

"Daddy still loves you. You don't have to be scary to us," Luke told the Sad Man, wanting to wiggle out of Daddy's arms but knowing that Daddy wouldn't let him.

He was only trying to be nice to the Sad Man, but the Sad Man got mad. "He's not your father! He stole you from me! You're my son! Mine!"

Luke held on tight to Daddy's neck. Daddy had said last night that the Sad Man was his daddy too, but he wasn't sure he wanted the Sad Man to be his daddy. Daddy didn't yell at him like the Sad Man did.

"Luke belongs to no one, Vader," Daddy said in the voice he always used when it was time for a bath. "He's a little boy who is loved by a great many people. I know that Anakin loved him, but what about you? Has the Emperor left any trace of that emotion in your or has it all be leached out?"

"He's my son," the Sad Man said again. "He's all that I left of her."

"He's all that I have left of my best friend."

"That doesn't give you the right to steal him from me!"

Daddy breathed very loud. "I can see that you haven't worked on your negotiation skills at all over the years. You are talking us in a circle."

Daddy was talking in the way that normally made people turn red. The Sad Man was turning red too, but it was an angry red that made him hold Daddy's neck tighter.

"Do no mock me, Obi-Wan. I'm more powerful than you could ever hope to be."

"You assume that what I wanted was power," Daddy told the Sad Man. "You are the one who always craved power. My only purpose right now is to make sure that Luke is safe and happy. Which yours should be as well."

The Sad Man's eyes got small and he started to walk very fast in front of them. "You don't get to lecture me any longer, Obi-Wan. I am no longer your apprentice."

Daddy made a funny laugh and shook his head. "I never trained you. The man that I trained was a good man. Impulsive, but a good man nonetheless. I would have trusted him with my life. Instead you ended his."

Luke tugged on Daddy's sleeve, wanting his attention. When he had it, he said in a loud whisper, "That's the Sad Man, Daddy. I see blue. Blue like you."

* * *

Vader stopped his pacing at Luke's words. What Luke supposedly saw in him shouldn't exist anymore. Anakin Skywalker didn't exist. The last traces of him had been burned away by the fires of Mustafar and Sidious' cruelty.

"You are only seeing the lies Obi-Wan created for you," Vader told his son, eyes locked on his former master.

"Daddy doesn't lie," Luke insisted, glaring at him.

Vader barely resisted the urge to shout at Luke, denying his words. Obi-Wan was an expert of altering the truth to suit his purposes. He was the Negotiator; famed across the galaxy for his ability to talk everyone from politicians to tribe leaders to war lords into changing their tactics and stepping down their aggressions. How difficult would it be then for Obi-Wan to convince a child that he hadn't tried to murder his father? Obi-Wan had left him to die on the side of that hill. The man who had claimed to love him had left him to die. Hadn't even tried to help him.

"There is a great deal that you don't know about your _Daddy,_" Vader spat out at last. "Things that I will gladly teach you the truth about."

"You would really turn him into another puppet for Sidious to manipulate?"

Obi-Wan's words caught Vader momentarily off guard. There was a truth to Obi-Wan's question that Vader didn't want to admit to. Loathe as he was to admit it, Luke would become another of the Emperor's pawns.

If Sidious ever found out about him.

"Don't be a fool, Vader. Your master knows all about Luke," Obi-Wan said, cutting into his thoughts. "Why else would he bother with Owen and Beru Lars? He wanted to ensure that I would have nowhere to hide Luke. That way, if he ever found me, he would have Anakin's son."

"You still think that you are so important," Vader scowled, crossing his arms over his chest. It was all that he could do to refrain from lashing out each time that Obi-Wan denied him his past. He may not have been Anakin Skywalker any longer, but that didn't mean he never had been. It didn't make Luke any less his son. "You were the one who decided that I wasn't worthy of raising my own son. Would you ever have told me about him if I hadn't found you first?"

"No," Obi-Wan said simply. "When he was older, I would have told Luke about what happened. It would have ultimately been up to him to decide whether or not he wanted anything to do with his father's murderer."

Vader wasn't even fully aware of what he was doing until Obi-Wan began to gasp for breath. And though he hadn't meant to do it, at this point he could no longer stop. Not without appearing weak to Obi-Wan. Vader felt almost detached as he watched Obi-Wan struggle to draw air into his lungs.

"Stop hurting Daddy!" Luke screamed, clutching at Obi-Wan's cheeks as the older man dropped to his knees. "Stop it! STOP!"

The next thing Vader knew he was flying through the air. He landed hard on the sand, skidding to the water's edge. In his surprise, he had released Obi-Wan who was now crouched over on his hands and knees, gasping for breath. Luke was standing next to him with his small arm wrapped around as much of Obi-Wan's shoulders as he could manage.

"Stay 'way from Daddy," Luke growled, his blue eyes dark with anger. "Yer mean and I don't like you."

As Obi-Wan slowly rose to his knees, then heaved himself back up onto his feet, he gathered Luke up in his arms, holding the boy close to his chest. Obi-Wan staggered briefly, but he didn't release Luke. Luke was latched onto him like a limpet, holding tight to the man he foolishly thought of as his father and glaring at the man who was.

"I see that you've already begun training him in the ways of your pathetic religion," Vader mused as he rose slowly to his feet. His chest felt tight and he was having a bit of difficulty breathing, though he did his best to hide it. He couldn't allow Obi-Wan to realize the advantage that he had.

"I've begun teaching him the value of a life, if that's what you mean," Obi-Wan said, his voice hoarse as a result of the invisible fingers that had been squeezing his esophagus. "That even the most pathetic lifeforms should be cared for."

Vader was not fool enough to miss the barb directed at him by Obi-Wan. He'd always known that Obi-Wan saw him as little more than an obligation to his dead master. Obi-Wan Kenobi was nothing if not loyal to a fault. Even if he would have rather seen Anakin back on Tatooine living the life of a slave, he wouldn't send him back because he'd promised Qui-Gon that he'd train him.

"I never would have sent you back to Tatooine," Obi-Wan told him, his voice slightly stronger as he shifted his hold on Luke.

It took a moment for Vader to realize that for the first time Obi-Wan hadn't made a definition between him and Anakin.

* * *

Vader was floundering. As much as he may have tried to hide it, Obi-Wan could sense that the Darth Vader that stood before him wasn't the same one he'd last seen on Mustafar. There was no definitive difference that he could point to, just a general feeling that he got from the younger man. It wasn't even enough to allow him to hope and he certainly wasn't going to trust Vader, but he wanted to believe that there was still something of the good man he had known trapped within Vader.

In truth, it would have been easier if there was nothing of Anakin left in Vader. He had been told too many times that he was far more attached to Anakin Skywalker than he should have been. That hadn't stopped the boy from worming his way into his affection. The boy had been stubborn like that.

"Give me my son."

A trait that hadn't been lost when Vader had entered their lives.

"I will not give him up to become another puppet for that madman," Obi-Wan said calmly with a shake of his head. No good would come from arguing with Vader, the man was too stubborn to listen to reason. "So either kill me and take him, or leave us in peace."

It caught him off guard how surprised Vader seemed by his comment. Stranger still was that Obi-Wan noticed his lack of eyebrows for the first time. Though that was a close second was the fact that Vader hadn't simply killed him. Obi-Wan had truly expected Vader to attack him long ago. He was so full of hate and anger and Obi-Wan was fairly certain that he was the focus of a great deal of it.

"Please don't kill Daddy," Luke snuffled against his shoulder. "Daddy didin wanna hurt you. Th' little frog made 'im go. Don't hurt Daddy."

Vader growled low in the back of his throat then, to Obi-Wan's surprise, stalked away into the forest.

As soon as he was certain that Vader wasn't coming back, Obi-Wan sagged. It had been his will alone that had kept him on his feet and now that he no longer had to put on a show for Vader he slumped to his knees, Luke still clutched tight to his chest.

Vader hadn't killed him.

What's more, Vader hadn't even made an attempt to kill him. His injuries certain wouldn't have prevented Vader from killing him; Obi-Wan had seen HoloNet footage to prove it. The only reason to explain Vader's restraint was Luke. Whether Vader wanted to admit to it or Obi-Wan to believe it, what he had just witnessed left no doubt that enough of Anakin remained locked inside of Vader to keep the boy safe.

"'M sorry, Daddy. I didin mean to make 'im mad," Luke snuffled against his shoulder.

Obi-wan pressed a kiss to the top of Luke's head, resting his cheek on the soft blonde mop. "It's not your fault, Luke. Vader is a very angry man. He always has been."

Later Obi-Wan would wonder just what Luke was doing so far from the village. At the moment he was simply grateful that Luke had survived unharmed. And that Vader hadn't taken him. That was what Obi-Wan had feared the most. Not that Vader would hurt him, but that Luke would be placed in danger. Luke was the only proof that a man named Anakin Skywalker had ever existed.

* * *

Vader didn't pause as he stalked towards his ship. He could feel Sidious on the edge of his mind and didn't want the old man tracking him to Endor. Vader would never admit it to Obi-Wan, but he didn't want Sidious anywhere near Luke. It was his own fault that he was the Sith Lord's puppet; he wouldn't put Luke in the same position if he could prevent it. He would keep Luke safe no matter what. Even if it meant going back to Coruscant to face Sidious' wrath for having disappeared for so long.

There was far too much truth in the things Obi-Wan had told him than Vader wanted to admit to. It had been almost off hand the way that Sidious had told him about Owen and Beru's deaths. Having only met them once, their deaths hadn't meant much to him at the time. Even now Vader wasn't too sure whether he wanted to believe Sidious or Obi-Wan's account of events; each one placing the moisture farmer's death on the other. If he allowed himself to be more rational about it, Vader knew that Sidious was a more likely candidate. Obi-Wan Kenobi was many things, but a murderer wasn't one of them.

The thought brought Vader up short. Obi-Wan was a murderer. He'd left him to die on Mustafar. What was that if not murder? Vader didn't like the turn his thoughts were taking. It had to be Obi-Wan's doing. Even now, when he had finally broken free of his old master, Obi-Wan was still turning his thoughts in on themselves. It was like Sidious had said, Obi-Wan and that old troll Yoda had destroyed everything in the galaxy that had anything to do with Anakin Skywalker. Even C-3PO and R2-D2.

But then why leave Luke alive? His step-brother and the droids were insignificant when compared to the destructive possibilities that Luke represented. Young as he was, Vader could already sense that Luke would one day be more powerful than him. And he feared what would happen if Sidious tried to harness that power. And, oddly enough, it wasn't his own position among the Sith that concerned him, but rather the effects on Luke. He didn't want Luke to become a shell of a man.

So Vader did what was expected of him. He relayed a message to Sidious, informing him that he would be returning to Coruscant the next day. It would give him time to finish things on Endor without running the risk of Sidious discovering what was going on.

"_I expect to be fully informed of the reason for this little escapade of yours, Vader."_

Back in his black suit and mask, Vader allowed the recording of the dreadful suck/hiss to run for a few cycles before responding. "Yes, my lord."

"_This will not happen a second time, Lord Vader."_

"Yes, my lord."

There was an entire list of orders that Sidious rattled off to him, the man micromanaging his every move on the return to Coruscant. Vader patiently sat through it all, well used to Sidious' ramblings. With each new statement, Vader was more and more tempted to continue staying far away from Coruscant. He didn't want anything to do with Sidious or his plans at the moment. All that he wanted was to take Luke and disappear somewhere in the Outer Rim.

To do that, though, he would have to kill Obi-Wan.

The fact that he was hesitating frustrated Vader to no end. Killing Obi-Wan should have been simple. The man had destroyed his entire life. He deserved it. However, there was still Luke to consider. Young as he was, Luke was still powerful and he would not willingly go with the man who had killed his "Daddy." Since he was still untrained, Luke would be as dangerous as a live bomb.

Leaving him with Obi-Wan, however, wasn't an option. He would not allow that man to poison his son's mind against him any longer. He was the one Luke should have been calling "Daddy." He was "Daddy" not the "Sad Man."

Once he had finished his conversation with Sidious, Vader stripped out of the cumbersome suit and back into the tunic and trousers he'd been wearing earlier. He wasn't going to allow Obi-Wan to continue raising his son. It had gone on long enough. Obi-Wan wouldn't steal any more time away from them.

He wasn't going to leave Endor without Luke.


	10. Part IX

Some of Vader's fervor had died down by the time he reached Obi-Wan's cottage. Regardless, he still meant to have Luke with him when he left Endor. Luke was his son and he was through allowing another man to raise him. He could do what Obi-Wan had done and disappear into the galaxy to raise his son in peace. He could keep Luke safe from Sidious.

As he approached the cottage, Vader realized how eerily silent it was. Far too quiet considering it was home to a little boy. Even the animals that usually twittered about in the surrounding trees were silent.

Vader couldn't sense Luke or Obi-Wan either.

Cursing under his breath, Vader rushed forward, desperate to be proven wrong. Obi-Wan' wasn't supposed to run. Obi-Wan was far too stubborn to run. Obi-Wan didn't run away from things. He would stay and fight even against the most ridiculous odds. It was what he'd always found so frustrating about the man when they were partners. Obi-Wan would negotiate, but he wouldn't retreat. Not when there were other options, even life-threatening ones.

The house was devoid of life. Vader searched every room, but could find no trace of either his son or his former master. Screaming in outrage, Vader kicked at a pile of holonovels stacked up on the floor in the common room. Most of them skidded about harmlessly, but a few became airborne. Vader tracked the progress of one of them, watching in shock as it hit the wall barely a hairsbreadth away from a singed hole that could only have been created by a blaster.

Obi-Wan wouldn't keep a blaster. They were too uncivilized for his tastes.

The Imperial army had no such qualms about using blasters.

* * *

He was a big boy, he wasn't s'pose to be scared. Big boys weren't scared of anything. Daddy wasn't never scared. Daddy was brave. Daddy protected him from the scary white men. But there were too many of the white men and they hurt Daddy. Made him sleep.

Luke didn't remember what happened after they hurt Daddy. They stuck something in his arm and then he'd felt sleepy too. Now he was in a bedroom that wasn't his bedroom and Daddy wasn't there. He kept screaming for Daddy, but Daddy didn't scream back. He even tried screaming for the Sad Man, but the Sad Man didn't scream back either. He was all by himself and his head felt fuzzy. Everything felt fuzzy and he wanted Daddy. Daddy would make everything all better. That was what Daddy's were s'pose to do. His Daddy was the best at that.

Luke didn't want to play with the toys or look at the picture books in the bedroom because they weren't his toys or picture books. The blanket from Mommy wasn't there either.

Luke wanted Daddy to come so they could go home. He didn't like the bedroom or the toys and he wanted to go back home to his bedroom. Daddy had promised him hot cakes for supper and Daddy almost never made hot cakes. They were special food.

"Daddy! 'M over here! Come find me!"

* * *

Obi-Wan came awake with a sudden jerk. The speed at which he became aware let him know that there was nothing natural about his return to consciousness. Just as there was nothing natural about his sleep. He couldn't recall the exact blow that had rendered him unconscious, but was sure that it had come after the bolt that struck his shoulder.

"You must be getting weak in your old age, Kenobi. It shouldn't have been this easy for me to capture you."

Obi-Wan had expected Vader to be taunting him. Sidious was a genuine surprise. One that he did his best not to reveal.

"You caught me on an off day," he said, glancing about the room as best as he was able from his prone position. Determining his own location was only a secondary concern, though. It was Luke that he was most worried about because he couldn't sense the boy anywhere. Not even the faintest traces of his Force signature. "I must admit that I am rather surprised to still be alive. As you've said, I'm just an old man. Not quite so old as yourself, mind, but still of little use to you."

Equally surprising was the fact that Sidious appeared more amused than anything about what he'd said. Sidious' amusement, though, didn't bode well for him either. There was some game that Obi-Wan did not yet know the rules to that Sidious was playing at. A rather dangerous game he was certain of.

"I am surprised that you have not inquired after the boy," Sidious mused after a time. "You went through such lengths to keep him from me and yet you don't seem the least bit concerned about his welfare."

"You'll excuse me if I would fail to find any comfort in whatever you would have to say on the matter."

Sidious inclined his head briefly. "Very well. Regardless you should rest assured that my new apprentice is quite safe. You have done well with him. It is a shame that in the end he will not remember you."

Not reacting to Sidious' words was taking every once of control that Obi-Wan possessed. There would be no point in shouting denials or insisting that Luke would never turn to the dark side because Obi-Wan knew full well that his words would fall on deaf ears.

"What of your current apprentice? Is Vader aware that he has been replaced?" Obi-Wan asked instead, unwilling to admit that he was actually curious to learn the Sith lord's response.

"Vader has outlived his usefulness," Sidious said at last. "I have done what I could, but the injuries you gave him weakened him more than I would like. Now that Vader has led me to his son he is of no consequence. He will serve me until Luke is of an age and then be removed."

* * *

Even though Vader was responsible for so much of the suffering and grief in his life, Obi-Wan still felt outrage on his behalf. Because no matter how hard he tried to convince himself otherwise, Vader was still Anakin. He had to believe that something of Anakin remained, not as much for his sake as for Luke's. Luke deserved to know his father. Obi-Wan himself was desperate to have his best friend back. Anakin had been closer to him than any other being in the galaxy and he would be lying if he said that over the years he hadn't hoped on more than one occasion that Anakin would return to him.

Now, as it had been then, it was a futile dream. The only thing that he could take comfort in was the fact that Vader would come for Luke. He would much rather Luke be with Vader than Sidious. Better still would be if Luke was able to draw forth the remnants of Anakin that were lost inside of Vader. The flicker that he had seen in those last moments on Mustafar and again on Endor.

Given the circumstances he had no choice but to return to Coruscant. It was the most likely place that Luke and Obi-Wan had been taken. It was where Sidious was and Sidious had always hated that Obi-Wan had survived the Jedi Purge. His master had meant to make an example of the elusive Jedi Master. For what purpose Vader had never been sure. Enough of a statement had been made when the Temple had been razed to its foundations. The Jedi themselves were slowly being forgotten, replaced by the Emperor's elite Storm Troopers; former servants of the Jedi now replacing them.

Having confirmed his impending return to Coruscant only a short time before, Vader was genuinely surprised when the communication panel on his starship informed him of an incoming message from Sidious. Vader donned his helmet and started up all of the precautionary systems before he responded.

"There has been a chance of plans, Lord Vader," the shadowy figure of Sidious said as it appeared hovering on Vader's com panel.

"What changes, my master?" It was a struggle for Vader to act indifferent when he knew that Sidious was behind Luke and Obi-Wan's abductions.

"I require your presence on Bespin," the Emperor said casually. It was his next words that filled Vader with dread. "You are just leaving the Endor system so you are far closer to Bespin than Coruscant."

Taking the reprimand for what it was, Vader nodded his head tightly. "As you wish, my master."

Turning off and locking his communication panel, Vader removed his helmet. Any doubts that had lingered in his mind about Sidious being responsible for the abduction were crushed then. The old man was far too smug for him to know nothing about Vader's activities on Endor.

For the fist time in a long time Vader began to hope. Hope that Luke was unharmed and safe as he could be in Sidious' clutches.

Vader wasn't sure what he wanted Obi-Wan's fate to be and that troubled him. Only a short while ago he would have been pleased to learn that his former Master was at the Sith lord's mercy. Obi-Wan had taken everything from him. Padmé, Luke, even his very limbs. Obi-Wan deserved to suffer for that. Yet Vader could find no joy in Obi-Wan being made to suffer at Sidious' hands.

Pushing these unwanted thoughts from his mind, Vader set the coordinates for Bespin. He'd known that Sidious had moved the Death Star's construction to that part of the galaxy as it offered easy access to certain materials. It had been several years since Sidious had been in the same system as his massive weapon—plausible deniability he called it –so Vader was surprised to learn of the Emperor's presence in Bespin.

Unfortunately, it would take time to get to Bespin. Time that Vader was left alone with nothing but his thoughts. Thoughts that inexplicably turned to Obi-Wan time and again. He shouldn't be concerned for Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan had stolen his life. Stolen his family. Obi-Wan had taken everything from him.

_Just as you took everything from him._

Vader startled at the sound of the voice. Even though so many years had passed he still recognized the voice: Qui-Gon Jinn. It was a voice that he should no longer be able to hear, though. Qui-Gon had been dead for nearly two decades.

_You are not hallucinating, Anakin._

"My name is Vader," he ground out, slamming up all of his mental shields. He didn't need to hear Qui-Gon's philosophical ramblings.

_No, your name is Anakin Skywalker. You have simply forgotten it for the moment._

Vader screamed in outrage, having no physical way to take out his frustrations on his first master. The one who had abandoned him after making so many promises.

_Whatever your feelings are now, remember that Obi-Wan loves you now just as he always has in the past._

Vader laughed bitterly. "Obi-Wan has never seen me as more than the unwanted pathetic lifeform you forced on him."

"_You will be a Jedi, Anakin. I promise," Obi-Wan murmured, his voice thick with the tears Anakin knew he hadn't cried yet._

_-O-_

_Obi-Wan smiled fondly when he saw that his bed was already occupied by someone else. "One night you will have to try sleeping in your own bed, my young padawan."_

_-O-_

"_I would have thought you'd choose green like Master Qui-Gon," Obi-Wan said quietly as he inspected Anakin's newly made lightsaber._

"_But yours is blue," was Anakin's simple response._

_-O-_

"_Do you think that Padmé ever thinks about me?"_

_Obi-Wan patted Anakin lightly on the shoulder. "You are a very difficult person to forget."_

_-O-_

_Shuffling across the small space that separated their beds in the healer wing of the Temple, Anakin fumbled with the empty right sleeve of his tunic. Without opening his eyes, a smile twitched at the corners of Obi-Wan's lips and he lifted the edge of his blanket._

"_Climb in, young one."_

_-O-_

_Anakin wasn't sure how long he stood in the pouring rain, staring in the direction he had last seen Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan had to come back. He refused to believe what the other masters and padawans on Jabiim were saying. Obi-Wan wasn't dead. He was going to come back. And Anakin would be there waiting when he did._

_-O-_

_He had been on the edge of sleep when he felt it. Master Mundi would only write it off as the product of his continued grief. Grief that Masters Yoda and Mundi were constantly telling him he needed to put aside. So Anakin left without telling his temporary guardian (he refused to think of Ki-Adi Mundi as his master)._

_He was going to bring Obi-Wan home._

_-O-_

"_I am getting far too old for this," Obi-Wan groaned as he slumped into a seat in the back of the transport. "As soon as this business with Grievous is finished I am taking an extended vacation."_

"_At least we're back on Coruscant," Anakin ventured, trying to be helpful. "You always tell me you relax easier when you're at the Temple."_

_Obi-Wan chuckled quietly. "Provided I can avoid Mace's lectures and you attempt to keep our common room in relative order."_

"_Then I promise to leave all the droid parts in my bedroom."_

_-O-_

_As he felt the flames begin to lick at the stumps of his legs, Vader had to squelch the urge to scream for Obi-Wan to help him. He didn't need Obi-Wan's help._

"Get out of my head!" Vader screamed, wishing that he had something physical to strike at. "You're not really here! You're dead! He let you die!"

_Obi-Wan was no more responsible for my death than I was. Maul was simply the better fighter that day._

"Obi-wan defeated him."

_In that moment Obi-Wan was acting on the anger and grief that was consuming him. Emotions that he was able to conquer until your fall to the dark side brought them back to the surface. He may not have always shown it, but never doubt that Obi-Wan loved you._

Vader kept his thoughts to himself at that. He refused to acknowledge Qui-Gon or anything that he said. It was all lies. Obi-Wan didn't love him. Obi-Wan had never even wanted him.

"_You were my brother, Anakin. I loved you," Obi-wan choked out, his voice cracking at the end._

"That didn't stop you from leaving me to die," Vader growled under his breath.

* * *

Obi-Wan arched his back, refusing to cry out as pain coursed through him. He'd endured worse at the hands of Asajj Ventress and told Sidious as much. It probably wasn't in his best interest to antagonize the Sith lord, but at the moment his wit was the only weapon available to him.

"Perhaps you should have allowed her to give you instruction in the art of torture," Obi-Wan grunted, shifting as much as he was able on the uncomfortable table he was bound to. "She would have at least broken a sweat in her attempts to make me scream."

"You give yourself far too much importance," Sidious chuckled. "This is merely an amusement while we wait for Vader to arrive."

"I'm to be a gift, am I?"

"A test."

* * *

"Daddy, please come," Luke snuffled as he curled up in the corner of his small cot. Daddy had been gone a long time. "I wanna go home, Daddy."

Then the door that hadn't opened before finally opened.

Luke scrambled off the bed, running towards the door. "Daddy!"

Except it wasn't Daddy that walked in the door. It was the Scary Man. The one who made the Sad Man so sad.

"Where's Daddy?" Luke asked him, trying not to cry. He was a big boy and big boys didn't cry. Not even if they were scared.

"Your father no longer exists," the Scary Man told him.

Luke shook his head, squeezing his eyes shut so that the tears would stay there. "Yer a liar. Daddy's not dead. Daddy loves me and Daddy's coming to get me. He's gonna take me home!"

"Your father has been dead for many years. Since before you were even born," the Scary Man laughed, walking over to him.

Luke tried not to, but he backed up a few steps. "Daddy's coming. The Sad Man is too. They're going to come and they're going to take me home."

"I look forward to it."


	11. Part X

Vader had never been to Bespin before. There had never been a reason for him to visit that particular system, nor had he ever had a desire to. It was remote and there had never been anything of interest to him there until now. Even the Death Star's construction had never held his attention, it being Sidious' project far more than it was his. Vader preferred to confront his enemies face to face and not hide behind a machine. The face mask that he had been forced to adopt after the flames of Mustafar had seared his lungs had never felt natural to him, especially not the way it had distorted his voice. It had turned him into a monster. A monster he no longer wished to be. He could never be fully human again, but he refused to be a monster. Now that he knew of Luke's survival there was no longer a reason for him to continue pretending that he was Sidious' lackey. And if the Sith lord had harmed Luke in any way, he would destroy the old man.

Finding Sidious was not difficult. In the time since he had last seen the Death Star it had become a fully formed planet; a moon that did not fit onto any of the star maps. What troubled him was that he could sense neither Luke nor Obi-Wan. Sidious had taken Luke and Obi-Wan, Vader knew that much. Whatever the aging Sith lord had planned it would no doubt involve both of them. Vader only hoped that he could keep his son alive.

_And what of Obi-Wan?_

Vader growled deep in his throat, annoyed at Qui-Gon's return.

_He would save you. Even after all that you've done, he wouldn't hesitate to save you._

"So you say of the man ho did this to me," Vader chuckled darkly.

_What option did you leave him?_

Vader said nothing to that. He had no desire to speak of what had happened on Mustafar with someone who hadn't even been there. Someone who had been dead for more than a decade before it had even happened. And even though Qui-Gon said nothing else, Vader knew that he hadn't finished his interference.

At the moment, though, it didn't matter because he was within range of the Death Star and was being asked for his identification codes. In his case, though, all it took was a few terse words and eh was admitted into the airspace. He was close enough to Sidious' location that he could feel the older man's presence like a foul viscous liquid seeping into his every pour. Vader had no idea how he had never noticed such things about Sidious in the past. It should have been impossible to mask such a dark nature and yet as Palpatine he had seemed to do it with such ease.

Vader worried what else Sidious might be hiding.

* * *

Obi-Wan lay panting on the narrow shelf that was currently serving as his bunk. Every molecule in his body throbbed and he could find no relief no matter how much he sought a comfortable position. The fact that he seemed to be in some kind of Force dampened room didn't help matters either. All it did was make him feel entirely too lethargic.

He knew that Sidious wouldn't go through the trouble of keeping him alive unless there was some other ulterior motive. Given Luke's young age he suspected that it had something to do with Vader. Of course that confused Obi-Wan just as much because there was no love lost between him and Vader. Vader had killed the good man that was his best friend and Obi-Wan had left him to die on Mustafar. He hadn't wanted to kill Vader, though. He'd only wanted Anakin to come back to him. To see the idiocy of what he was doing. Dismembering him had been his only option and one that he had been reluctant to take. Vader, sadly, had left him with no alternative.

If he believed in such things, Obi-Wan would have thought it fate to have their situations reversed in such a way. Vader would now have every opportunity to destroy him the way he had once tried to do to Vader.

In a way, Obi-Wan thought it was quite fitting.

There was a _woosh_ as the door to his cell opened. Having expected clone troopers, Obi-Wan was surprised to see Sidious himself entering the dim room. Other than the arching of an eyebrow, Obi-Wan didn't react to this new turn of events. It was rather pointless at the moment.

"I take it that Vader is on his way," Obi-Wan grunted as he heaved himself upright. "Ready once again to do his master's bidding."

Sidious chuckled quietly, the sound echoing off the walls. "What happens will be Vader's choice. He deserves it, don't you think, after what you did to him?"

"Possibly," Obi-Wan consented. "Though I can't help but wonder what would have happened had it been Master Yoda against Vader and not myself. It was what I would have preferred."

"Ahh, yes, the great General Kenobi, loyal unto the very end," Sidious sneered. "You know there was a time I was determined to make you my apprentice. You were filled with such wonderful anger and hatred when your master died. It was truly intoxicating. Unfortunately it didn't last and I was forced to look elsewhere for Maul's replacement."

Obi-Wan leaned heavily against the wall, his eyes fixed on Sidious. "You must know that I never would have been your apprentice."

"I will wager that at one time you would have said the same about your beloved former partner," the Sith lord mused, obviously quite pleased with the situation.

"I misjudged the strength of your ability to manipulate and seduce. Rest assured that will not happen a second time."

"It is only Vader that concerns me," Sidious informed him. "He is the one foolish enough to believe that he can deceive me. Instead he led me straight to his son. Without him it would have been many years before I found the youngest Skywalker and then things would have been so much more uncertain."

Exhausted even though all he had done was sit up, Obi-Wan allowed himself to slump further against the wall behind him. "You do recall that Vader's pride was ultimately part of his downfall? He thought himself to be invincible and took a foolish risk that left him as little more than a charred ruin of a man. It surprises me that you bothered to save him given his state. Especially since you knew that Luke was out there somewhere."

"Insurance in case Luke failed to live up to his father's potential."

"Of course."

Glancing over his shoulder, Sidious nodded for the two guards to enter the cell. "Bring him."

Obi-Wan knew better than to waste his strength fighting. Fighting now meant the possibility that he would not be able to take advantage of later situations that could lead to both his and Luke's freedom. Situations that Obi-Wan planned to take full advantage of even if it meant finally killing the man he would have once given his life for.

* * *

It didn't surprise Vader that he was ordered into what amounted to Sidious' throne room on the Death Star. In the plans it had simply been called an "audience room," but there was no masking the fact that it was the room that Sidious had decided would be the one that he would use to strike fear into the galaxy. An emperor who could destroy an entire planet with the mere flick of a wrist. At the moment, his master was planning to make the planet of Alderaan the first victim of this new weapon. Senator Organa was entirely too troublesome for his own good and Sidious meant to remove him permanently. However, there was no telling what the months that were still needed to complete the Death Star would bring. Some other fool could just as easily earn Sidious' ire in that period and save Organa and Alderaan from its intended fate.

Obi-Wan kneeling in the center of the throne room collared and bound also wasn't much of a surprise. Yet even bound and without the impressive robes of a Jedi, Obi-Wan still looked formidable. There was a strength and pride in him that had not yet been broken. Vader looked forward to being the one to finally destroy the great Obi-Wan Kenobi. Vader had expected Sidious to play with him for a while, waiting for him to make a mistake and reveal that he'd known about Luke and Obi-Wan. Vader was no unsure how to deal with the situation. He didn't want to risk Luke.

"I was unaware that we had a guest," Vader mused aloud as he strode across the walkway that separated the main part of the room from the entrance.

From his seat at the viewport, Sidious inclined his head briefly. "I thought it would be a welcome surprise."

"Most welcome," Vader agreed. "I didn't think that Obi-Wan was foolish enough to get caught. My former master must be getting weak in his old age."

"As I told your puppeteer earlier, Vader, I was having an off day," Obi-Wan sighed, looking more bemused than frightened by the situation that would eventually lead to his death.

The blast of Force lightning that struck Obi-Wan in the back and propelled him forward onto his face caught both of them off guard. With his hands bound behind him, Obi-Wan couldn't catch himself and when he rolled onto his side after the impact there was blood dribbling from his nose.

"Still quite insolent after all this time. Really, Kenobi, this is quite tiresome."

Chuckling wetly, Obi-Wan struggled onto his knees. "I must agree with you, Sidious. This is quite tiresome. So please begin whatever game you have in mind and let us get on with it."

Inside his mask, Vader could only gape at Obi-Wan. His former master had always been stubborn, but at the moment that stubbornness was bordering on suicidal. Like him, though, Obi-Wan probably knew that he would not survive. That Sidious was only playing a game with him. It was probably only sheer force of will that kept Obi-Wan upright during the second volley of lightning directed at his back.

When Sidious let up his attack, Obi-Wan was panting, his entire body trembling with the effort it took to remain upright.

"All this time you have evaded us, Kenobi," the Emperor sneered, finally rising up from his throne-like chair. "Denying my apprentice his much deserved vengeance. And now he shall finally have revenge for the murder of his family. Take what is yours, my apprentice."

Sidious' eyes never wavered from Obi-Wan's huddled form as he addressed Vader at the end. When those eyes did fall on him, though, Vader felt as though they were piercing right through the mask and all of his secrets.

"Oh yes, Vader, I know what you're trying to hide from me," Sidious murmured, his voice a venomous thing. "There is no need to wear that cumbersome mask. Let your former master—your supposed _friend_ –see just what he has done to you. Let your face be the last that he sees as you have your revenge."

For a second, Vader thought about insisting on his continued need for his mask, but knew that it would be useless in the end. Sidious would see right through his lies. With one final glance at Obi-Wan, Vader switched the audio respirator off and disengaged the clasps on his mask. With no place to set it down, Vader simply let the now-useless mask tumble to the ground, the sound of its landing the only one in the room aside from Obi-Wan's labored breathing.

"You did not think to hide such things from me, did you, Lord Vader?" Sidious chastised, shaking his head briefly.

* * *

Obi-Wan had no idea what game Vader was playing at, but he doubted very much that it would end positively for either of them. More frustrating was that Obi-Wan now found himself stuck in the middle of it whether he would want to be or not. More frustrating was that he was currently cut off from the Force. It made him entirely too vulnerable. Both he and Luke since at the moment he was the only protection the little boy had.

"I only wanted to ensure that I could survive without the mask before revealing that I no longer needed it."

"And now that you can, there is no longer need for such pretences," Sidious assured him. "It is quite fitting that it is your face that Kenobi will last see as he had intended for his to be the last you'd see on Mustafar. Kill him."

Obi-Wan wasn't quite sure what to make of the fact that Vader didn't automatically move to kill him. On Endor he could make sense of it because Luke had been there. That there had been enough humanity left in Vader to not murder him in front of the child. Luke wasn't there this time; only him, Vader and Sidious.

Vader must have hesitated too long because Obi-Wan once again found his body electrified by that cursed blue lightning. He slumped forward before he could even attempt to steady himself.

"Why do you hesitate, Vader? This is the man who stole your life," Sidious hissed, his voice louder as he advanced. "He's responsible for Padmé's death and the death of your unborn child."

With his head bowed slightly, Obi-Wan had the perfect vantage point to see Vader's fingers clench around the hilt of his lightsaber.

* * *

Sidious was lying to him. He was trying to hide his own son from him. Vader wasn't fool enough to think that it was to make him angry enough to kill Obi-Wan that Sidious was distorting facts. Luke was to be his replacement. A lifetime ago Vader had been the one to do away with an apprentice that Sidious no longer had any use for. He would be the one to die this time and Sidious would raise Luke and turn him into some dark monstrosity that wasn't even a shadow of the happy little boy he'd seen on Endor.

"You know that he's lying," Obi-Wan said calmly. "Padmé was a friend and I would never do anything but love any child she bore. Any child of yours."

Obi-Wan cried out as he was struck in the shoulder by Sidious' lightning, his body spinning before sprawling on his left side.

"Finish him now, Lord Vader."

"Luke knows who you are. He knows the man that you were and loves him," Obi-Wan insisted, his voice cracking at the end as Sidious once again lashed out. "Your son loves you, Anakin! Don't let Sidious destroy him!"

Doubt tried to insist that Obi-Wan was lying to him—only trying to save himself –but years of living and fighting beside the man told him otherwise. For all that he and Obi-Wan had ever been at odds, the older man had never lied to him. Not like Sidious had time and again.

The thought hadn't even completed itself in his mind when he was jumping forward to block the crackling energy from weakening Obi-Wan further. His lightsaber was ignited, red fending off the blue lightning. Every muscle in his mechanically enhanced body straining, Vader took a few steps forward, brining him closer to Sidious. Two steps became three and still he held out even as his arms began to tremble.

"He is deceiving you," Sidious cried as he found himself being bombarded by the dark energy. "He allowed Padmé to die and he left you to burn on Mustafar."

Vader hesitated for a moment, his memories of Mustafar coming suddenly to the fore. It was only for a second, but it was enough time for Sidious. A sudden surge of energy found Vader without his lightsaber, the full force of the blast against his chest. He stumbled briefly, but managed to pick up a forward momentum. It was sheer will that kept him moving forward. Sidious had destroyed his life. Sidious had filled his head so full of lies that he hadn't been able to think straight. He'd believed Sidious when he should have listened to Padmé and gone to Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan would have helped him.

The constant stream of energy on his prosthetic limbs was wreaking havoc on the sensitive gears and motors. Wires were frying and the limbs themselves were twitching sporadically, especially his fingers and toes. Knowing that he would not have long before he lost control completely, Vader steeled himself and called forth Sidious' lightsaber from where it hung at his hip. The instant that his fingers closed around the hilt, he ignited it and brought it up so that the blade was absorbing the lightning. Vader's fingers continued to pulse as a result of misfiring circuits so he gripped the hilt extra tight as he once again began to advance.

"You stole my family and you stole my life," Vader ground out, glaring at the man he had once trusted above all others. "You used me!"

Dropping down suddenly to his knees, Vader swung the lightsaber out in an arch first to his left, over his shoulder and head before swinging it around. Right through Sidious' mid section. Immediately he could feel the release of tension as the Force lightning ended at the same moment Sidious' life did.

Vader continued to kneel in the same spot, panting, the lightsaber tumbling from nerveless fingers. For several long seconds he stared down at the wreck of a body that had been the most feared being in the galaxy. Emperor Palpatine. Darth Sidious. The man who had laid waste to his life.

"Anakin?"


	12. Part XI

"Anakin?"

Obi-Wan wasn't certain what kind of response he'd been expecting, but it wasn't for Vader to collapse back in a heap. Vader's eyes had fallen shut and his breath was coming out in harsh pants. Since the restraint collar cutting off his connection to the Force, Obi-Wan couldn't tell what was wrong with him. Remaining conscious was proving quite difficult for him as well. The pain he had felt earlier was minute compared to the extended exposure to the Force lightning.

"Of all the times to faint," Obi-Wan grumbled, his eyes tiredly scanning the nearby space for something he could use to cut the binders that held his wrists together. Vader would be of no help even if he was willing to release him. At the moment Obi-Wan's mind was far too muddled for him to make sense of what had happened during that last confrontation between Vader and Sidious. Obi-Wan had been quite certain that he was going to die; whether it was by Sidious or Vader's doing would be irrelevant. But he was alive. He felt very much like death warmed over, but he was still breathing while Sidious was not. That meant there was still a chance that he could safe Luke.

And perhaps Anakin as well.

For the first time he felt truly hopeful that it was possible to save Anakin. Provided, of course, that he was first able to get them out of their current predicament.

It took a great deal of shuffling, but Obi-Wan was eventually able to grab hold of Vader's fallen lightsaber and ignite it. He was extremely careful, using his rather stunted senses to determine the course of his movements so that he didn't cause himself further injury. Taking a deep breath, Obi-Wan strained his arms as far apart as he was able and slowly edged the humming blade towards the binders. He could feel the heat of it on his inner arms and, because of his extreme caution, there was a slight catch when the blade came in contact with the durasteel binders. Keeping the tension in his arms, Obi-Wan brought the red blade forward until his wrists fell apart. It was only a lifetime of practice that kept him from accidentally dismembering himself. As it was, the inside of his left forearm ended up somewhat burned.

The collar was another matter entirely. He would have gladly left it on until he had access to a mirror and could determine a painless way to remove it, but at the moment he didn't have the time for such a luxury. Not if he wanted to get himself, Luke, and Vader off of the Death Star unseen.

Obi-Wan held himself as still as possible, his head tilted to the side, and brought the humming blade to his throat. He could feel the heat singling the fine hairs on his neck and jaw, but dared not move quickly for fear of cutting straight through the collar and into his flesh. It was a maneuver he wouldn't have even thought twice about if he'd still been connected to the Force. He would have cut, trusting in his abilities to stop the blade before it went too far.

There was a momentary hitch and then Obi-Wan felt the whole world crashing around him. All of his senses were open once again to the world at large. He released the hilt just as a tremor shook through his body. Grasping, Obi-Wan dropped from his kneeling position, catching himself on his forearms. His muscles twitched, spasming with the remembered pain of the electrical surges.

Obi-Wan wasn't sure how long he laid there, his mind struggling to make sense of what had happened. One thing he did know was that he needed to get Luke and Vader somewhere safe. Somewhere that Sidious' minions couldn't find them.

* * *

"I like to eat—eat—eat… apples and bananas. I like to eat—eat—eat… apples and bananas…." Luke let his voice trail off, scrubbing at his eyes with the back of his hands. He was tired. He wanted to sleep, but he couldn't go to sleep because something might happen. Daddy was going to come and they would go home. Daddy would make him hotcakes like he'd promised. Maybe the Sad Man could come too. Daddy'd said that he liked hotcakes.

Yawning, Luke wiggled around a bit. He didn't want to sleep, but he was very tired. He had to stay awake in case he heard Daddy. He had to be awake so that he could shout for Daddy. It was good that the bed wasn't comfy. It was lumpy, even sitting up it was too lumpy for him to be comfortable.

"Dis is the song dat doesn't end. Yes it goes on and on mah friends. Some p'ple started singin' it not knowin' what it was—"

"Luke!"

Scrambling off the bed, Luke darted towards the door. "Daddy! Daddy! I's here!"

"Luke, I need you to stand away from the door," Daddy said in his tired voice. "Are you away from the door?"

Luke immediately darted towards the center of the room. "I'm away from the door, Daddy!"

Nothing was happening and Luke was getting scared that Daddy had been catched by the bad men again. He couldn't hear any noise, not even the grumbling sound Daddy made when he was working on something. Luke was just about to shout for Daddy again when he noticed one of the corners of the door changing color. First it was gray, then orange, then red, then really red, and then a red stick was poking through. A laser stick. Luke got excited and started to run forward, only remembering at the second that Daddy had said to stay away from the door.

As Luke watched, the laser stick began to cut a smaller door inside the big metal door. A door that Daddy was just on the other side of. It took forever for Daddy to make the little door. Then finally Daddy finished the door and it fell into his room with a loud crash. As soon as the door fell open, Luke noticed that his head didn't feel fuzzy anymore. He felt wide awake.

Happy that his head didn't feel fuzzy anymore, Luke ran towards Daddy who was fallen down like he was going to crawl. Daddy was breathing very loud, too. Luke threw himself at Daddy as soon as he was close enough, holding onto him tight as he could. Daddy moved around a bit and then Daddy's arms were wrapped tight around him too. Luke couldn't quite make out what Daddy was saying, but he knew it was good. Daddy was making rumbling, happy noises.

When Daddy tried to pull away, Luke wound his arms and legs around him as tight as he could. "No! Stayin' wiff you, Daddy!"

"I just need to see if you're hurt, Luke. I'm not going anywhere."

Even though he didn't like it, Luke let go of Daddy a little bit. Just enough so that Daddy could see that he was okay. Whenever Luke said that he was okay, Daddy still always checked. When Daddy was looking at him, Luke noticed the Sad Man lying against the wall. There were still little bits of red around him, but mostly the Sad Man was blue. Blue like Daddy was blue.

"The Sad Man's coming with us?" Luke asked, looking back up at Daddy.

Daddy nodded his head, looking really quick at the Sad Man. "Yes, your father is coming with us. Anakin is coming with us."

* * *

Every single molecule in his body that possessed a pain receptor ached. Even the ones that didn't twinged sympathetically along with the others. Obi-Wan was doing all that he could to ignore that pain, his main concern getting both Luke and Anakin off the Death Star. When they were all somewhere safe he could rest. Perhaps for an entire fortnight.

"I need you to be very quiet, Luke," Obi-Wan instructed the small boy who was still clutching at the sleeve of his singed tunic. "Sneaky. We need to get to a ship and leave without anyone seeing us. Okay?"

"'Kay, Daddy."

Smiling at Luke, Obi-Wan gently ruffled his wild hair. "Can you pick that up for me while I get your father?" he asked, nodding in the direction of the lightsaber hilt.

Luke seemed very uncertain for a moment then pursed his lips tight and nodded his head. "You won't go 'way?"

"I won't go away," Obi-Wan promised him.

As he'd hoped, Luke's fascination with the lightsaber gave Obi-Wan the time he needed to haul Anakin's limp frame up off the ground. Lightweight as durasteel was supposed to be, Anakin still weighed considerably more than Obi-Wan remembered him weighing the last time he'd had to carry the younger man around unconscious.

"I'm getting too old for this," Obi-Wan grumbled under his breath as he heaved Anakin up onto his right shoulder. "Why couldn't you be the conscious one?"

"Here you go, Daddy," Luke said, appearing at his side once again.

With the lightsaber in his left hand, and his right one supporting Anakin, he didn't have the necessary limbs to hold onto Luke who was chewing nervously on his bottom lip.

"Take one of your father's hands, Luke," Obi-Wan instructed, gesturing to the unconscious man with his left hand. "Hold his hand and think very hard about him waking up. Can you do that?"

His features scrunched up in absolute seriousness, Luke nodded his head. With any luck Luke would be able to coax Anakin back into consciousness and he wouldn't have to carry the younger man's considerable bulk any longer. As it was it would be a quite miraculous thing if they were able to make it to the hanger bay.

Their progress was very slow, not only because Obi-Wan was unable to go quickly with Luke trailing behind him, but also because he had to stay on the lookout for clone troopers roaming the corridors. His senses were far too frazzled at the moment to attempt slipping into their minds and altering their thoughts. Not for the first time Obi-Wan found himself missing Anakin's meddlesome droid R2-D2. For all its odd quirks it excelled at patching into ships' computers and would have made finding the docking bay that much easier.

"Are you still thinking hard, Luke?" Obi-Wan asked quietly as they slipped into a new corridor. One that thankfully featured a pair of turbolifts.

"He's not wakin' up. I keep thinking but he won't wake up." Luke peered up at him, his face etched in a frown.

"Don't worry, Luke. Your father has always been very stubborn. Keep trying."

Obi-Wan sent a few thoughts of his own trailing along the shattered remains of his and Anakin's old training bond. One that hadn't faltered until that day on Mustafar when Obi-Wan thought Vader had murdered Anakin. Obi-Wan could only hope that what had happened today and the afternoon on Endor was proof that Anakin wasn't completely destroyed. As it was, he was taking a great chance bringing Anakin with them, but the alternative was unthinkable. Leaving him behind on Mustafar had been the hardest thing he'd ever done and Obi-Wan knew that he wouldn't be able to do it a second time. Not when there was a chance that he could save Anakin from the darkness.

It was a relief to be in the turbolift. Obi-Wan was able to lean his left side against the wall. He would have set Anakin down except that he wasn't sure that he'd be able to pick him up afterwards.

"We gonna go home now, Daddy?" Luke asked, winding his arms around Obi-Wan's leg and holding on tight.

Slipping the lightsaber into his belt, Obi-Wan awkwardly reached down to run his fingers through Luke's hair. "It's not safe to go home right now. The men who took us here know where we live so if we go home they might try and take us again."

The scrunched up nose was a sure sign that Luke was unhappy. "What 'bout the hotcakes you said we could have for dinner?"

"As soon as I can, I'll make you hotcakes," Obi-Wan promised the boy.

That earned him a snuffly smile from Luke who continued to clutch at his leg as the turbolift descended to the hanger bay. Wishing that he could gather Luke up in his arms, Obi-Wan had to instead content himself with stroking his fingers through the boy's rumpled blonde hair.

"You've been very brave, Luke, and I'm very proud of you," Obi-Wan murmured when Luke looked up at him again.

Luke beamed at that, his smile as wide as any Anakin had ever flashed at him when being praised. "Yer very brave, too, Daddy. The bravest Daddy."

"What about your father? Isn't he brave too?" Obi-Wan asked, not wanting to chance Anakin hearing anything that would set him off again. He needed Anakin to be calm when he finally regained consciousness.

"The Sad Man's brave too," Luke nodded. "He is really my daddy?"

"He's really your daddy. And he loves you very much."

The turbolift came to a stop then and after a quick glance up at the monitor Obi-Wan was relieved to see that they had reached the docking bay. Instructing Luke to once again take hold of Anakin's hand, Obi-Wan heaved himself away from the wall. He staggered momentarily, but through sheer force of will managed to stay upright.

"No making a peep, Luke. We have to be very sneaky," Obi-Wan whispered as they stepped out of the compartment. "Let me know if you see any bad men."

"'Kay, Daddy."

Finding a starfighter that he would be even the least bit confident piloting took a bit of effort. It had been many years since he'd piloted a craft himself, let alone one that would be large enough for the three of them. And that wasn't surrounded by clone troopers at the moment.

"This ups the tally several points in my favour, old friend."

* * *

Daddy was very tired. He was pretending that he wasn't, but his eyes were squinty and the only did that when Daddy was tired. Something had happened, though, because Daddy wasn't nervous of the Sad Man anymore. He was helping the Sad Man. Maybe that meant they were all going to be a family together. Luke didn't mind having two daddies. One of his friends had two mommies and he said having two mommies was a good thing. Luke was sure having two daddies would be a good thing, too.

As they sneaked through all of the spaceships, Luke made sure not to let go of the Sad Man's hand. Carrying him around was making Daddy even more sleepy. It wasn't good for Daddy to get sleepy because then the bad men would come again. The bad men would come and he wouldn't know where Daddy or the Sad Man were.

When Daddy stopped all of a sudden, Luke bumped into his leg.

"Luke, do you see that ship over there? The one with the ramp down?" Daddy asked in a quiet voice, pointing to a spaceship that wasn't very far away.

Luke kept looking at the spaceship, leaning against Daddy's leg. "I see it. That the spaceship we're gonna go in?"

"It is. So when I tell you to, I want you to run onto it as fast as you can. Don't stop, just keep running. No matter what."

Daddy was using his serious voice, so Luke nodded his head. "No matter what."

* * *

Gathering up the last of his reserves of strength, Obi-Wan tightened his grip on Anakin and readied the lightsaber. It would have been infinitely easier to leave Anakin behind, reminded a voice in his head that was starting to sound a great deal like Mace Windu.

_You have it in yourself to do this, my padawan. A few more minutes and then you, Luke, and Anakin will be on your way to safety._

The voice was one that he had not heard in many long years, but that filled him with an immense sense of peace. Raising Luke had not afforded him the time that was necessary for the training that Master Yoda had prescribed for him, yet he knew that it truly was Qui-Gon's voice and not some dark trick. Sidious was dead and whatever his action would b in the future, currently Anakin was unconscious.

"Now, Luke. Run," Obi-Wan instructed as he ignited the red lightsaber.


	13. Part XII

The first step that he took dashing out of their hiding place, Obi-Wan stumbled. Not a very good sign of things to come, but he managed to regain his footing before dropping Anakin or falling. Luke, thankfully, had no such hindrance and made his way quickly to the star fighter. They were deep enough into the hanger bay that Obi-Wan hoped they would evade detection by the clone troopers.

Getting out of the Death Star was only the first problem. Obi-Wan still had no idea where he was going to take Luke and Anakin. He wanted Anakin calmer before he revealed Leia's survival to him so they could not go to Bail on Alderaan as both father and son would undoubtedly be able to determine her identity. Both Naboo and Tatooine were bad choices considering the memories they held for Anakin. Padmé's body was on Naboo and even though Tatooine was where Anakin had grown up, it was far too dry for Luke who had always been surrounded by water.

Obi-Wan was staggering up the gangplank when he came upon an at least temporary location for the three of them to hide.

"Luke, stay back here with your father," Obi-Wan instructed as he dumped Anakin into a seat in the passenger area. He quickly belted Anakin in before doing the same to Luke. "Hold on."

Without Anakin's bulk slowing him down, Obi-Wan was able to move easier. However, ease of movement was no guarantee that his piloting abilities would be on par with what they had been a few years before. He had never been a superb pilot by any stretch of the imagination, leaving the more thrilling stunts to Anakin.

"Now would be an excellent time for you to wake up," Obi-Wan muttered as he fired up the ship's engines.

Checking to make sure that all of the ship's guns were in working order and that the tracking signal was disarmed, Obi-Wan let out a shuddering breath and released the docking mechanism. One final run-through to ensure that everything was in order and that they would have enough fuel to get them to where they were going and Obi-Wan began to ease the ship forward.

"Let's hope this works."

* * *

Daddy was flying a spaceship. Daddy hated flying and Daddy was flying a spaceship. Twisting about in his seat as much as he could, Luke tried to look out the window so that he could see the stars. Daddy had strapped him in too good and there wasn't much that he could see. It was all very bumpy and twisty. And lots of flashes of light. Green and red and blue. Very pretty.

"Are you all right back there, Luke?" Daddy shouted after the ship began to spin round and round in circles.

"I's fine, Daddy! The Sad Man's fine, too!"

At least Luke thought the Sad Man was fine. He was still sleeping so it was hard to tell. He wasn't twitching like Daddy did when he had bad dreams. Daddy was always sad after he had a bad dream. The Sad Man didn't need to be anymore sad. Luke was pretty sure Daddy could make the Sad Man feel better. Daddy always made him feel better.

"Daddy, can I take off the belt yet?" Luke yelled up once Daddy stopped flying in circles. "I wanna see the stars and I can't back here."

Daddy was quiet for a minute and then walked into the back of the ship. He still looked tired, but not as worried as he was before. They must have got away from the bad men. Maybe it meant they could go home.

"Are we space pirates now?" Luke asked as Daddy started undoing his belt.

Daddy laughed quietly and shook his head a little bit. "No, Luke, we're not space pirates. We're just going to find a new place to live…. Come along, you can be my co-pilot."

Daddy lifted him up into his arms then looked very quick at the Sad Man before he walked back to the front of the spaceship. He didn't think that Daddy had had a bad dream again, but he looked sad. Almost as sad as the Sad Man.

* * *

As he'd hoped, after Luke's initial excitement about seeing the stars, the little boy had drifted off to sleep. With any luck, Luke would sleep most of the way to the Forest Moon. Obi-Wan knew that he should get in touch with Master Yoda given all that had just occurred, but Degobah was not a place he wanted to take either Luke or Anakin. Anakin was still far too unstable to spend an extended period of time on such a Force-infused planet. Luke, meanwhile, would probably try to befriend one of the carnivorous beasts that lived in Degobah's endless swamps and become a snack to one of the large, snake-like creatures. Master Yoda would likely track them down regardless and at least on Endor's Forest Moon he could retrieve both his and Anakin's lightsabers when it was safe. Luke would also become quite enamored with the Ewoks who would all be roughly his size.

"Obi-Wan…?"

Leaning back in his seat, Obi-Wan ran a hand over his stubbled jaw. He had hoped that Anakin would sleep longer. Knowing that he couldn't put it off indefinitely and it would only incite Anakin to come looking for him, Obi-Wan switched on the auto-pilot and rose wearily from his seat.

"I can't move," Anakin said by way of greeting as he made his way into the passenger section of the ship.

"I was hoping that was not the case," Obi-Wan murmured as he knelt down in front of the younger man. "My mechanical skills have improved over the years, but it will take some effort to get your limbs functioning again. I only hope that damage isn't too severe because where we are going is quite primitive."

For a long while Anakin stared at him through eyes that were no longer quite so fiery. In fact, they were only a few shades duller than the blue he had known so well before.

"Am I a prisoner?" Anakin asked after a time.

"A prisoner?" Obi-Wan echoed, staring intently at Anakin. "Why would I take you prisoner? I would have simply fled with Luke if I bore you any ill will."

Anakin's eyes slid shut and he allowed his head to drop back against the seat. "Then you have me at a loss because I do not understand why you would risk yourself trying to save me when you've already tried to kill me."

"Then you share my predicament because I'm not entirely certain why I'm still alive."

"Sidious lied to me."

Blunt as the response was, Obi-Wan knew that it was the extent of Anakin's reasoning. For all the philosophies that he had tried to teach his apprentice over the years, Anakin always returned to his simplistic mind-set of right and wrong. It was what should have made him the ultimate Jedi. The Jedi Code, however, had never taken emotions into account and Anakin felt emotions more strongly than any being Obi-Wan had ever encountered.

"You're truly living up to all of Qui-Gon's hopes for you," Obi-Wan said at last, his lips quirking in a brief smile. "You destroyed Sidious which means that you are the only Sith left in the galaxy. If you can conquer that you will have destroyed the Sith just as he always hoped you would."

Anakin snorted mirthlessly. "The only way I can do that is to destroy myself."

"Or instead destroy that thing within you that is so dark," Obi-Wan countered, rising up from his crouched position. "The choice is yours. But know that if you continue down the path of Vader you will not see Luke or myself again."

"You will not take my son from me," Anakin hissed, the seat he was strapped to slowly beginning to rattle.

"I would not take Anakin's son from him just as surely as I will not allow Vader anywhere near Anakin's son."

* * *

As always Obi-Wan was speaking in riddles. In the past it had made Obi-Wan an excellent negotiator, but at the moment it only served to frustrate him. He could not understand why Obi-Wan insisted on talking to him as though he were two separate people. Or think that he could possibly hurt Luke. Luke was his son. Luke was all that he had left of Padmé and he wasn't going to lose his son now that he finally had him.

At the moment there was nothing that he could do. He was trapped inside his own body until repairs could be made to his prosthetic limbs. The only thing he could do at the moment was move his head about and he was too exhausted to do much of that.

For the life of him he could not figure out what had possessed him to step between Obi-Wan and Sidious. He should have been rejoicing at Obi-Wan's imminent demise. Obi-Wan had left him for dead, hacking off three of his limbs and leaving him to burn to death on the fiery shores of Mustafar. Instead he had saved Obi-Wan's life, taking the full force of Sidious' frightening blue lightning into himself.

More frightening was the knowledge that if it came to it a second time he would do the exact same thing over again. Obi-Wan had been utterly defenseless and that was not the kind of death he deserved. Dying electrocuted by Sidious' blue lightning wasn't the type of death that one of the greatest warriors in the galaxy should have. Once his body was functioning again, he intended to ensure that Obi-Wan met his end. It would be a warrior's death, though. He'd die, lightsaber in hand, as it should have happened on Mustafar.

Around him, the ship began to vibrate in a way that Anakin knew was not external. Breathing as deeply as he could, he tried his best to calm himself. It would benefit no one if he rattled the ship apart in his anger. He would be denied his vengeance and would kill both Luke and himself in the process.

Slowly the tremors began to ease and, as they did, his anger began to dissipate. Desperate as he was to remain angry with Obi-Wan, he found that he could not. The emotion kept slithering through his grasp, elusive.

_Release all of the anger that is consuming you, Anakin. Free yourself from it._

Anakin could not contain the snarl that twisted his lips. While there was a part of him that recognized the wisdom in Qui-Gon's words, he did not appreciate the interference of yet another person telling him what to do.

"Keep your advice to yourself," Anakin growled, his voice low enough so that Obi-Wan would not accidentally overhear him. The older man did not need to think that he was insane as well as evil. "I do not need your interference, nor do I appreciate it."

_Anakin, my concern has only ever been for you. You are the Chosen One, yes, but beyond that—"_

"Save me your platitudes. All that you or the Council ever cared about was that damn prophecy," Anakin chuckled mirthlessly. "You wanted to prove that it was true and Mace couldn't wait for me to fail so that it would be proven false. Both of you ended up dead as a result. My whole life was destroyed because of this Sith-begotten prophecy. You made me the Chosen One and then you let it consume me. You took Obi-Wan from me time and again and you didn't care. Sidious wanted him dead and the Council wanted us apart. I only ever wanted him."

Anakin pursed his lips to keep from revealing anything further. Arguing with a figment of his imagination would only prove to Obi-Wan that hew as insane and the older man would watch him more closely. Obi-Wan might also put off repairing his damaged limbs and it would be longer before he could escape with Luke. At the moment that was his only goal. To recover and disappear into the galaxy with Luke. Away from the Jedi and the Sith. He didn't want Luke to be devoured as well.

* * *

It looked like home. Everything was green and sunny and the trees were all big like the ones back home. Except it wasn't home. Daddy had told him that it wasn't home. Daddy had woken him up and showed him as they flew past home. It wasn't very far.

"Are you sure we can't go home, Daddy?" Luke asked as Daddy unbuckled him from his seat.

"One day we'll go home, Luke, but not yet."

Luke wanted to go home. He wanted to tell his friends about the bad men and the spaceship and that he had two daddies now instead of one. The Sad Man was a little bit scary, but Luke knew that he was only pretending to be scary. The Sad Man loved him and Daddy. The Monster just made him forget that for a bit.

"You have done a fine job raising him, Obi-Wan."

"Daddy, who's that?" Luke asked, pointing to the blue man standing near Daddy's chair. He could still the wall behind the blue man, too.

The blue man smiled at him. "My name is Qui-Gon Jinn. I was a friend of both your father and Obi-Wan."

Qui-Gon was a friend because Daddy was smiling very big. Daddy only smiled that big when he was very happy.

"How come yer blue?"

Qui-Gon laughed in the quiet way Daddy did when he was trying not to laugh. "I am blue, as you put it, because I am one with the Force."

Luke was still confused. "Daddy, why is he blue?"

Daddy was staring at Qui-Gon, still smiling, but then looked back at Luke. "He's blue because he is very far away. Like the people on a communicator are far away."

"How far away are you?"

"Unfortunately, I am very far away. So far away that you will never see me in my true form, but in the end, all things are connected through the Force."

Qui-Gon was very confusing.

"I gonna go see if the Sad Man woke up," Luke told Daddy as he slid off his chair.

Daddy stopped him with a hand to his shoulder. "Even though he's your father, I want you to be careful around him, Luke. If he starts saying bad things I want you to come back here to me. Understood?"

Luke didn't think the Sad Man would say bad things, but he nodded his head so Daddy wouldn't worry. "I promise, Daddy."

"And if he's tired, let him sleep. There will be plenty of time for you to talk with him afterwards."

Daddy wiggled his hair and let him go then. Luke made sure not to step too loud just in case the Sad Man was sleeping. Daddy said that the Sad Man got hurt saving him. That meant the Sad Man still loved Daddy. He was just mad and forgot for a little bit. But now that he wasn't mad anymore the Sad Man would be nice to him and Daddy and they would all be happy.

"Luke?"

The Sad Man was wide awake and looking at him funny. "Hi. Daddy says I can talk to you if you're not sleepy. Are you sleepy?"

"You do know that he's not your father?" the Sad Man asked, his head flopping a little. "He took you away from your mother and I."

Luke climbed up onto the seat next to the Sad Man. "Mommy died and Daddy promised to take care of me because you were with the Monster. Daddy thought the Monster killed you. But the Monster didn't kill you so now you can stay with me and Daddy."

"Where are we?"

"Du'nno," Luke shrugged. "It's near home, but not home. There's not as much water and Daddy says there are little people who look like teddy bears."

The Sad Man smiled! It was a little smile, but he never saw the Sad Man smile before. Daddy said the Sad Man used to smile a lot and now he made him smile again.

"Yer very pretty when you smile."

The Sad Man made a funny face and shook his head. "Girls are pretty."

"Boys can be pretty, too. Daddy's pretty. How come you don't have hair? Daddy said that when you were little you had yellow hair like me."

The Sad Man was very quiet for a long time and Luke thought that he fell asleep. Then he blinked and looked over at Luke very slow. He was frowning.

"I did something very bad," the Sad Man said quietly. "Obi-Wan tried to make me stop, but I wouldn't listen to him."

"I sometimes forget to listen to Daddy," he told the Sad Man. "He never gets mad at me, though. He just gives me a hug and makes it all better."

"He did that for me, too. A long time ago."

"If you ask him nice Daddy'll give you a hug now, too. Daddy gives the best hugs."

Since Daddy wasn't there and the Sad Man really needed a hug, Luke reached over and gave him a hug. The Sad Man didn't hug back, but that was okay. He was probably too sleepy.


	14. Part XIII

Obi-Wan could only stare at his former master in absolute wonder. He had not thought that Qui-Gon would be able to manifest himself in any physical way. Simply being able to hear the older man's voice had been comfort enough for him. Yet there he was, standing before him as though he were a living being.

"You raised him far better than the farmers would have been able to, good intentioned though they were," Qui-Gon said to him once Luke had wandered off to visit with Anakin.

"I can't believe you're really here," Obi-Wan marveled, unable to erase the smile from his face.

"Believe it, Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon assured him. "Unfortunately, when they occur, my visits will be rather limited in their length."

"That I can see you at all is a wonder."

Qui-Gon smiled genially, inclining his head briefly. "I am relieved to see you doing so well given recent events."

"Then I am doing a good job at masking it for I feel about ready to drop at any moment," Obi-Wan revealed, slumping into the pilot seat. "Yet, if I am honest, I am quite surprised to still be alive. I was quite certain that Anakin would allow Sidious to kill me."

"Even now the boy is full of surprises it would seem."

"Do you think that he can be saved?" Obi-Wan asked, needing to know that his efforts would not be futile ones. Or ones that could quite possibly place Luke in danger. While Obi-Wan had no problems risking his own life to bring Anakin out of the darkness that had swallowed him, he would not risk Luke.

"I believe there is still good in him," Qui-Gon said after a brief pause. "Anakin had not lost himself completely."

Obi-Wan released a relieved sigh. "It is good to hear my hope's confirmed."

"It is good to hear that you still have hopes."

&&&&&&&&&&&&

Anakin was roused when he felt himself being lifted from his chair. He immediately attempted to lash out, but found that he could not. It took a moment for him to recall the reason for it and swallow the panic the lack of control over his limbs created.

"I assume Luke told you where we are," Obi-Wan said conversationally.

The calm way Obi-Wan spoke caught him off guard. He was still expecting to be treated as a prisoner.

"In case he didn't, we're on the Forest Moon of Endor," Obi-Wan continued. "I need to stay close to the Water Moon so that I can retrieve a few things at a later date. We were forced to leave rather abruptly."

"Where's Luke?" Anakin demanded, desperate to regain some type of control.

"Sound asleep in our current lodgings," Obi-Wan assured him. "For the time being you and I will share a room so that you can wake me if you need anything."

"I don't need your help," Anakin spat, only aware of the foolishness of his words after he spoke them. He attempted to cover it with, "I want to see Luke."

"In the morning you will. For now this day had continued on far longer than I would prefer so we are going to sleep."

Anakin scowled up at Obi-Wan. "I'm not tired."

"Then lie quietly and allow me to sleep. So long as you don't disturb me," Obi-Wan said around a yawn.

It was only because he could sense how utterly exhausted Obi-Wan was that he decided not to protest further. Whatever had compelled him to save Obi-Wan's life hadn't done so just so that Obi-Wan could fall dead from a combination of exhaustion and his injuries.

It was strange to be lying next to Obi-Wan. During the war, more often than not, they shared either a room or a tent on all of their missions. Even when two rooms were set aside for them they would share quarters in order to ensure that there was someone watching their backs.

That had been a whole other life. A life that seemed like only a dream for all that had happened since.

Obi-Wan had fallen asleep almost immediately, but Anakin remained awake, listening to him sleep. He refused to admit to watching Obi-Wan sleep. It was too dark to see him in any case. He could only hear the steady in and out breathing of the man he would have once trusted with anything. And provided things had not changed much over the years, Obi-Wan was a relatively heavy sleeper when exhausted. It would be so easy to simply squeeze the life out of him while he slept. He would finally be free of the man who had ruined his life.

"If you kill me now, who will put you back in working order?" Obi-Wan mumbled sleepily. "Luke is a very intelligent boy, but he is only four and doesn't knkow how to rewire prosthetic limbs."

Anakin scowled at him. "You have no right to read my thoughts.

"Then quit projecting them so loudly and I won't."

&&&&&&&&&&&&

Obi-Wan was not fool enough to think that Vader could be so easily erased from Anakin's mind. He was simply relieved that the possibly existed for his best friend to have survived in some form. More for Luke's sake than for his own. At the moment, that small fraction of himself that was Anakin was still fragile. Sidious' timely demise would give it a chance to flourish, but it was not a sure thing.

"Why are you helping me?"

He had not been fool to think that Anakin had fallen asleep. Likewise, he had known that the question was an inevitable one. Obi-Wan had hoped to be slightly more alert when the question was asked, but not everything could be planned so precisely

"I am helping you for the sake of the good man I would like to believe is still inside you," was the answer he decided upon. "For the man who was once my best friend. "I would like to believe that Sidious and Vader have not destroyed him completely."

Anakin remained silent, but the air around him was not fizzling with restless energy as it had been before.

However small, it was a start.

And though he would rather stay awake to ensure that Anakin's doubts did not begin to creep up upon him again, Obi-Wan was far too exhausted to keep his eyes open for more than another minute.

&&&&&&&&&&&&

The bed was too big, too soft, and it didn't have his blanket. Luke didn't like the bed. He wanted to sleep in his own bed. He liked his bed. Daddy had made it for him. It looked like a podracer. He wanted to drive a real podracer, but Daddy said he was too little and that it was too dangerous. But Daddy also said that too much chocolate was bad and that he needed to have a bath every day. Daddy was just silly sometimes.

Sliding out of the too big bed, Luke looked around for Daddy. He knew that Daddy wasn't far away because he could feel him humming. The Sad Man was humming too. Luke yawned as he followed the humming towards Daddy and the Sad Man. Everything was dark so he had to be careful not to trip. He didn't want to wake up Daddy or the Sad Man since they were both sleepy.

Daddy and the Sad Man were sleeping on a big bed. It wasn't fair that they got to sleep in the same bed and he was all alone. Daddy was never not fair. Walking over to Daddy's side of the bed, Luke tugged on his hand until Daddy started moving.

"I wanna sleep wif you, Daddy."

Daddy blinked for a long time before finally looking over at him. "Luke?"

"I wanna sleep wif you, Daddy."

Daddy yawned very big and then reached out both his arms. "No wiggling about, though. Your father needs to sleep."

"No wigglin'."

&&&&&&&&&&&&

Luke was asleep again before Obi-Wan even had him fully settled on the bed. The poor boy was exhausted. Obi-Wan carefully laid Luke down between them, almost surprised that he didn't fling his arms and legs out in his usual sprawled sleep position. Instead he just settled down in an exhausted heap.

More than willing to continue sleeping himself, Obi-Wan was almost disappointed to see Anakin staring at him as he began to settle back down.

"I had hoped that he would not wake you," Obi-Wan said quietly as he slumped back onto his pillow.

"He still calls you 'Daddy,'" Anakin accused him, the last word practically snarled.

"Because he is four years old and has never known another father aside from me," Obi-Wan sighed, fairly certain that Anakin would not be allowing him to sleep any time soon. "And while I have no intention of ever taking your place, I will never stop being in his life. I have loved Luke since the day he was born and that will not change."

"But I am his father."

Obi-Wan released a deep breath, struggling to remain calm during what he was certain was about to become a tiring argument. "Yes, you are Luke's father. He knows that just as well as I do."

"Then have him stop calling you 'Daddy.' You are not his father," Anakin insisted, Obi-Wan's words obviously making no impression whatsoever.

"I cannot force him to do anything like that and Luke will call me Daddy just as he always has because that is who I am to him. Likewise, once you cease to be quite so consumed with your anger he will no longer see you as the Sad Man."

Anakin was quiet for a time and Obi-Wan hoped it meant that he was getting tired. Obi-Wan himself was on the verge of sleep. He would have preferred unconsciousness right then; joining Luke in oblivion. He knew that it was not to be when he heard Anakin draw a slow, deep breath.

"Why does Luke call me the Sad Man?"

It was not a question Obi-Wan had been expecting, but it was certainly one that he was willing to answer. "Luke has always had an awareness of you, whether picked up from my thoughts or from the Force itself I'm not sure. But he has always been aware of you and you have always been sad."

"Always?"

"From what I can tell," Obi-Wan said with a resolute nod, swallowing a yawn immediately after. "He's been talking about the Sad Man for nearly as long as he's been talking. It wasn't until he started mentioning things I remembered that I realized he was talking about you."

Even in the darkness he could see the hopeful look that flashed across Anakin's features. "He knows me."

&&&&&&&&&&&&

Between them Luke shifted, wiggling about a bit in his sleep. His son knew him without even having met him before. And as much as an inner voice shouted at him to deny Obi-Wan's words as utterly falsehoods, he couldn't. So many years ago he had felt the same way about Obi-Wan when they had first met. As though Obi-Wan was someone he should have known. Padmé had been something else entirely. She had and always would be his angel. Anakin had never been able to define his relationship with Obi-Wan. Over the years, Obi-Wan had been father, teacher, brother, friend, confidant, partner, savior and enemy. And so many other things that Anakin didn't know the name for.

Furious as he was with Obi-Wan for leaving him to die in the flames on Mustafar, a more rational part of himself reminded him that he had not actually given the other man much of a choice. Obi-Wan had tried to talk him out of it, but all that he had been able to hear were Sidious' words in his mind repeating over and again that all the Jedi must die. Including Obi-Wan. And had it not been for the lucky strike the older man had gotten in, Anakin would have killed him and felt no remorse about it whatsoever.

Anakin could not contain a shudder that overtook his system then. He would have killed Obi-Wan. In that moment it seemed an utterly unnatural thing to do.

_Yet he tried to kill you,_ a slithery voice whispered into his mind. _He left you to die on that planet. He took your wife and your child and left you to die._

"Shut up," Anakin grumbled under his breath, not wanting to wake Luke or Obi-Wan. "You're dead. You don't exist anymore."

_Yet you do not question Master Jinn's presence and he has been dead far longer than I have._

"Go away."

_Still so pathetic,_ Sidious' voice cackled, the sound reverberating in his skull. _It is a wonder I ever thought there was potential in you. You are weak, Vader. You always have been._

At his side, Luke began fidgeting a bit. He didn't look upset, but rather annoyed with whatever was disturbing his slumber. A moment later, Luke rolled onto his side, his small arms winding around Anakin's upper arm. It was still flesh that Luke gripped so Anakin could feel the heat from Luke's sleep-warmed body seeping into himself. Luke wiggled about briefly and then was still, a small smile on his face.

"Papa," Luke yawned as he nuzzled his face into Anakin's shoulder.

Luke knew him. Even in his sleep, Luke knew him.

Anakin would have given anything in the galaxy, his own life even, if he could have simply drawn Luke into his arms then and feel him with arms that were not made of durasteel. Even if he could have only one arm that was his own he would have been content. Being without his own limbs had never bothered him overly much in the past. It had even been a bit of a novelty in the beginning. Padmé had always seemed a bit hesitant about it; Obi-Wan, however, had always seemed amused by Anakin's tinkering with the limb.

And while he could not hold Luke at the moment, Anakin drifted off to sleep content in the fact that his son was near.

&&&&&&&&&&&&

Obi-Wan was relieved to feel somewhat more alive when he awoke the next morning. He still felt entirely exhausted, but no longer as though he was about to collapse at any given moment. Of course it would probably be more prudent to test that theory when he was actually out of the bed.

Blinking his eyes open slowly, Obi-Wan glanced to his right and the bed's two other occupants. What he saw there instantly brought a smile to his face. Anakin and Luke were both still utterly asleep, but sometime during the night Luke had wound himself around Anakin's torso, using his father as a living pillow. He couldn't see Luke's face, but there was no mistaking the blissful expression on Anakin's as he turned his face into Luke's rumpled hair. Nothing would have been able to incite Obi-Wan to waking them then.

So instead he shut his eyes and allowed himself to drift back off to sleep.


	15. Part XIV

**Part XIV**

It was an odd thing to wake with someone wrapped around him. The last time anyone had shared his bed was the day before his old life had fallen apart. The day he had helped to destroy the Jedi Order, and he and Obi-Wan had fought. Strange that it should be Obi-Wan sharing his bed. Obi-Wan and Luke. Had anyone been looking in on the scene they would have assumed them all to be a family. Instead they were enemies with a temporary peace being held for the sake of the little boy lying between them.

"Do you need anything before I head out?"

Startled, Anakin's eyes shot open. He had thought Obi-Wan still abed because his Force signature was so close. Instead, Obi-Wan was fully dressed and sitting on the edge of the bed.

"I'm going out to look for the necessary parts to repair you and am not certain when I'll be back," Obi-Wan explained as he rose from the bed. "Luke cane handle small tasks, but it would be best to take care of more pressing matters before I leave."

Anakin immediately shook his head, not even pausing to consider any needs his body might have. He would not be any more indebted to Obi-Wan than he already was. He also didn't want Obi-Wan to see him so vulnerable. Bad enough that the older man had already saved his life.

"I'll be fine," he ground out when Obi-Wan showed no signs of leaving. "The sooner you can repair me, the better."

"Impatient as always, I see," Obi-Wan mused, a slight smile curving his lips. "I shall return shortly."

Anakin kept his eyes glued to Obi-Wan as he left the room. It angered him that he had to purse his lips to keep from calling after the other man. He was virtually defenseless because he was unable to move and that made him incredibly uneasy. Anakin wanted to be able to defend himself and Luke, but knew that there was very little he could do if any of Sidious' lackeys managed to track them to Endor. Anakin himself still could not believe that he had killed the Emperor. He had come to distrust the man over recent months, but he had never thought that he would be the one to end Sidious' life.

"Daddy says i's not nice t' think loud," Luke mumbled as he began shifting about restlessly.

Anakin was momentarily startled and glanced down at Luke in surprise. The little boy never opened his eyes, but gave a contented sigh and drifted back to sleep. It was mind boggling just how unruffled Luke was about everything that had gone on in the past few days. He was not yet even four and should have been far more unsettled by what was going on around him. He had been kidnapped and forced to flee his home, yet Luke was as relaxed and carefree as he had been when Anakin had first seen him on the Water Moon.

"Papa, please," Luke whimpered pathetically, cracking an eye open while he pouted at Anakin. "Too early for loud thinking. I's sleepy."

For several minutes, Anakin laid there silently, watching his son as he slept. Luke didn't seem to care that his body was mostly made of durasteel, winding his small limbs around him as he slept. That, more than anything, helped lure Anakin into a peaceful state of mind and eventually into sleep.

* * *

It took Obi-Wan longer than he'd expected to find the necessary pieces he would need to repair Anakin's limbs. Or at least get it functioning enough so that Anakin would be able to get it working to his own specifications. For the first few months that Anakin had the prosthetic on his right arm, Obi-Wan could recall him tinkering with it almost daily, modifying the mechanics of it until he was satisfied. Obi-Wan had merely watched, amused, while Anakin worked one-handed on a task that would have been far easier with two. However, he couldn't fault Anakin all the time he'd spent working on the mechanical limb because his ability with his lightsaber hadn't suffered the way Obi-Wan had seen other's over the years.

Knowing that they were still in danger, even with Sidious dead, Obi-Wan felt naked without his lightsaber hanging at his hip. The weight of Vader's felt awkward even though there was very little difference between Vader and Anakin's. The weight of it felt heavier than the components that made it up. Obi-Wan hoped that he would be able to retrieve their lightsabers from his and Luke's old home on the Watery Moon. How long they would be forced to remain in their current location was a mystery. Obi-Wan doubted that much effort would be put into finding them for a while as the leaders of Sidious' empire had more dire things to concern themselves with. Almost since the formation of the Galactic Empire, Obi-Wan had heard rumblings of rebellions. As soon as it was even rumoured that Sidious was dead Obi-Wan was fairly certain that those rebels would try to restore the Republic. Sadly, though, Obi-Wan could not take part. Luke's safety and Anakin's sanity were far more important.

As Obi-Wan came near the cottage he, Luke and Anakin were currently residing in, he wasn't entirely surprised to find Luke seated on the front steps drawing pictures in the dirt. Even if Anakin had told the boy to stay inside, Luke would have simply snuck outside when Anakin was otherwise occupied because the boy didn't like staying indoors when there were new places for him to see. A trait he had inherited from his father.

"Hi, Daddy!" Luke chirped when he caught sight of Obi-Wan. The stick was completely forgotten as he bounded down the path to inspect the packages Obi-Wan was carrying. "Whacha got?"

Instead of answering, Obi-Wan merely arched an eyebrow. "And just what are you doing outside?"

"Papa's talkin' wif the Blue Man," Luke shrugged absently. "Whacha got, Daddy?"

* * *

Though there were likely men who would disagree with him, Qui-Gon firmly believed that Anakin had fulfilled his destiny as the Chosen One. Anakin had destroyed the Sith just as he had been meant to do. The consequences of all that had resulted from it were regrettable, but it did not take away from the fact that the Sith had been destroyed.

"You have achieved far more than I could have ever dreamed you would," Qui-Gon enthused, smiling fondly at Anakin. "You are truly a great Jedi."

Anakin snorted, the sound harsh in the peaceful setting. "I haven't been a Jedi for a long time, something I'm sure you're quite aware of, so quit trying to placate me. I am a Sith. I pledged myself to Sidious and became Darth Vader."

"You are not wholly the monster Sidious would have you believe that you are otherwise you would have allowed him to kill Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon tried to rationalize.

Though he wished it were otherwise, Anakin's sneer was hardly unexpected. "You seem to have failed to consider that I would rather claim Obi-Wan's death as my own doing rather than leave it to Sidious. Obi-Wan stole my life and I mean to see him suffer for it."

"That is only your anger speaking, Anakin. Something you have allowed to control you for far too long."

"You are certainly full of yourself," Anakin chuckled darkly, laboriously pulling himself up into a half-reclined position with his elbows. "It wouldn't surprise me if Yoda had something to do with this. That little troll has always been so determined to keep Obi-Wan and I apart. Rambling on and on about attachments when all he cared about was whether or not I played my role as the 'Chosen One.' Only Obi-wan every really cared what happened to me. It didn't matter to him if I was the Chosen One. He was happy with Anakin."

"This seems to be a great deal of emotion to expend on someone whose death you seem to be plotting."

"I wouldn't bother otherwise."

Try as he might, it was difficult for Qui-Gon to find traces of the boy he had met on Tatooine. All that had once been good about Anakin was twisted and deformed; lost amidst all the hatred that consumed him.

"I do not believe that you feel only hatred for Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon insisted, almost pleaded with the wretch trapped on the bed. "You did not kill him on the Water Moon and you did not allow Sidious to kill him. The bond between you still exists."

Qui-Gon was brought up short when a small, cubic object was launched through the space that he occupied. No longer a part of the natural world, it took Qui-Gon a moment to realize that the entire room was vibrating.

"Anakin, you must calm yourself."

"Anakin!"

* * *

Just as he had been about to enter the cabin, Obi-Wan had felt the tension swirling around Anakin begin to rise. As a result, the cabin itself began to tremble in the wake of Anakin's increasing anger. Instructing Luke to remain outside, Obi-Wan rushed towards the back bedroom where he had hoped his former padawan had been speaking calmly with his former master.

"—must calm yourself."

"Anakin!" Obi-Wan found himself shouting as he hurried through the doorway; and was genuinely surprised when the tremors seemed to cease almost immediately.

It was Qui-Gon who turned towards him, though, not Anakin. "Your arrival could not have been more opportunely timed, my dear padawan."

"He is a Jedi Master now," Anakin grumbled on his behalf. "He was a member of the Jedi Council."

"You will forgive an old man his inaccuracies," Qui-Gon demurred, glancing briefly to Anakin. "If you will recall, though, the last time I saw Obi-Wan with my living eyes, he was still under my care. As were you."

"And we are much better for you having left," Anakin scowled, the vibrations beginning once again.

"Anakin," Obi-Wan admonished, casting a reproachful look in the younger man's direction.

"It's true," Anakin insisted, shuffling about as best as he was able with only limited mobility in his limbs. "Qui-Gon only ever cared that I was the Chosen One. That's the only reason he brought me off of Tatooine. The only reason he wanted to train me was so that he could prove the Council wrong. He took me from my mother and he took you away from me."

"He did no such thing," Obi-Wan immediately corrected him, turning his full attention to Anakin.

Anakin glared briefly over Obi-Wan's shoulder, where the Force ghost of their former master hovered. "Yes, he did. You always felt guilty about how he died and kept going on about how you could never teach me as well as he would have."

It was on the tip of Obi-Wan's tongue to deny what Anakin said, but to do it would be a lie and Anakin would immediately call him on it. Anakin had always been able to tell when he was lying, even when no one else could. It was something that had alternative annoyed and amused him over the years.

"I was unprepared for to take a padawan when I first began your training, Anakin," Obi-Wan said, hoping to draw Anakin's ire from Qui-Gon. "I had no idea what I was doing and shaking such thoughts of inadequacy was something I was never quite able to do. But that is my failing, Anakin, not Qui-Gon's and most certainly not your own."

There was a stalemate, the three of them exchanging glances without any saying a word. The fire that had practically been radiating around Anakin was not quite so strong as it had been in the past. It seemed more diluted, but most definitely nowhere near the point where it would fade. When Qui-Gon faded from view, the corona of rage relaxed even further.

"Are you quite finished your tantrum?" Obi-Wan demanded once the harsh lines on Anakin's face began to soften. "I would prefer to do my work without running the risk of you throwing a fit and electrifying me while I am busy re-wiring your limbs."

"I would not hurt you."

Anakin's words came out as a hiss and Obi-Wan could not be entirely certain that the malice in his voice was not directed at him. However, when he looked directly at the man lying on the bed, there was something earnest in his eyes. Eyes that were once again far more blue than fiery yellow. It was a relief to see some of that darkness fading from Anakin. It gave him hope that his friend was not entirely lost to the darkness, that he was not doing all of this in vain.


	16. Part XV

so it's been well over 2 years since i last posted a chapter of this fic. why the muses decided to turn their attention back to this fic, i have no idea. :) i'm just going with the flow. so for all of the wonderful readers who've been asking me to continue with this fic, here it is. it's not a lot, but i figured something was better than nothing at this point.

* * *

**Part XV**

Daddy was inside fixing Papa's arm. Even though Daddy'd told him to stay outside, he'd gone inside to see why the house was shaking. He stayed back near the bedroom door, peeking around the corner to see what was happening. There were tools all over the bed and Daddy had Papa's arm on his knee. They were talking very quiet and Luke couldn't really hear them. He leaned forward far as he could, but he still couldn't hear them.

"There's no use hovering about, Luke. We both know you're there," Daddy said without turning around.

Sliding around the door, Luke stood pressed up against the wall and watched them. Daddy fixed things all the time at home, but he never saw Daddy fix someone's arm. He'd never seen anyone with a metal arm. His friend Kaleon's daddy had a hand that wasn't real—it got twitchy sometimes when it wasn't working right—but it looked really real. Papa's arm was all metal and wires.

All of Papa's arms and legs were metal.

"How'd Papa get hurt?" Luke asked quietly, not wanting to make Daddy break Papa more. "Did it really happen on a fire planet?"

"It's a planet called Mustafar," Papa told him, staring down at his hand. "It's a long way from here."

"But how come Daddy hurted you? I saw Daddy hurted you, but Daddy loves you. You love Daddy too," Luke insisted, bounding across the room. He wanted to jump up on the bed, but stopped, bouncing on his toes instead. "The blue is all mixed together. That means you love Daddy lots and Daddy loves you."

Papa shook his head, looking at him this time. "You're too young to understand, Luke, but Obi-Wan betrayed me. He stole you from me before you were even born. He destroyed my life."

"That is not what happened, Anakin, and you know it," Daddy said in his serious voice, putting the tools down. "You aligned yourself with Sidious and left me no choice. You had destroyed everything I'd ever known.... The Temple, the other Jedi.... I had nothing left, Anakin, except the hope that you hadn't turned completely. When you tried to kill Padmé, I knew. I knew then that my best friend was dead."

Papa was glaring at Daddy when the room started to shake again.

"Do you really want one of your tantrums to hurt Luke?"

Papa looked right at him then so Luke stepped up to the side of the bed. Papa took a couple deep breaths and the room stopped shaking. When he was sure Papa wasn't angry any longer, Luke climbed up onto the bed so that he could see what Daddy was doing. There were bits of things everywhere, lots of burned bits, that Daddy was taking out of Papa's metal leg.

"Whatcha doin', Daddy?"

Daddy stopped what he was doing and looked at him. With his head, he motioned Luke closer so that he could see Papa's robot leg. Crawling across the mattress, Luke stared in wonder at all the metal bits that made up Daddy's leg. While he worked, Daddy told him exactly what he was doing and how it would help. Papa was mostly quiet, but said things from time to time when he thought Daddy should do something different.

"Believe it or not, I do know what I'm doing," Daddy told Papa, not looking up from what he was doing. "Now shut your mouth before I end up electrocuting you."

Papa's face got all scrunched up, but he didn't say anything else. He let Daddy fix his legs, first one then the other. He thought it was neat when Papa's metal toes started wiggling. Luke could hear the funny little sounds all the gears and things made when Papa moved. Papa moved a lot once Daddy fixed his legs. He was very fidgety and kept telling Daddy to finish with his arms.

xxxxxxxxxx

Obi-Wan had done it intentionally. Started with his legs to keep him pliable for just that much longer. Nothing Obi-Wan ever did was random. His former master analysed every single move, every single action, he made. So even though Obi-Wan claimed to have started with his legs because the components were larger and easier to work with, Anakin knew that it was because Obi-Wan wanted him to remain dependant. Wanted to keep him from taking his son and leaving.

"Regardless of whatever you and I want, Luke will make his own decisions on the matter." Obi-Wan's cool, emotionless voice grated on his nerves. "He's a very strong-willed boy."

"Daddy says I's stubborn. Only he says it in his quiet voice that I not s'pose to hear," Luke chimed in, grinning from where he sat near his feet.

"You should not listen to conversations that do not concern you." Obi-Wan's smile was quick and genuine. The last time he'd seen Obi-Wan smile like that was before he'd gone to face Grievous on Utapau.

It was the last time he could recall smiling as well.

"Not conversations if yer just talkin' to yourself," Luke informed Obi-Wan with the utmost seriousness a four year old could manage.

In those few moments he could see so much of Padmé in Luke. She would have loved their son, doted on him. Padmé would have been a wonderful mother only she would never get the chance. She would never see their little boy grow up and become a man. Would never see that bright, dazzling smile he flashed Obi-Wan.

"Did I really kill Padmé?" Anakin found himself asking as Obi-Wan bent forward to begin removing the burned out wires in his left arm.

Obi-Wan's fingers stilled briefly, but he didn't look up or even stop what he was doing. "Physically what you did on Mustafar didn't kill her. The injuries she received here relatively minor and she should have recovered. Even with the birth complicating her injuries, she should have recovered. I am at a loss to explain why she did not."

"I never would have hurt her."

"I never would have believed that you would turn to the Dark Side."

Obi-Wan spoke without inflection, without emotion in his voice, but Anakin could still hear the recrimination. When Obi-Wan looked up at him, there was only sorrow in his eyes.

"Luke, could you go fetch some water from the dispenser," Obi-Wan instructed, smiling fondly at the little boy.

The bed shook, jolting him as Luke bounced off the bed.

Obi-Wan waited until the boy was out of the room before continuing. "I'm sorry, Anakin. That comment was uncalled for, especially in front of Luke."

Anakin shrugged his shoulders, looking down at the components of his left arm. "You always were a better Jedi than I was."

"That's hardly true," Obi-Wan snorted, his ability for self-deprecation not having diminished over the past four years. "I've been struggling to keep up with you since you were twelve years old."

Anakin stared at Obi-Wan, unable to comprehend how the older man was able to be so calm and rational around him. Obi-Wan should have hated him, should have left him on the Death Star and made his escape with Luke. It was what he would have done had their situations been reversed. However, Obi-Wan would never do something like that. His former master was far too honourable.

"You should've left me on the Death Star to rot," Anakin told him, scowling at the top of Obi-Wan's head. "I'm responsible for the death of countless Jedi, younglings included. I helped to destroy the Temple. Why are you helping me?"

"No one is beyond redemption," was Obi-Wan's all-too simple response.


	17. Part XVI

**Part XVI**

Obi-Wan found himself hesitating as it came time for him to connect the final wires on Anakin's right arm. With his left arm already back on-line it would have been easy enough for Anakin to repair his remaining limb, but he hadn't said anything when Obi-Wan had begun to work on his right arm.

As he'd expected, Luke had gotten bored with the goings on in the main bedroom and wandered off to amuse himself. Obi-Wan purposely kept his shields low, monitoring Luke as he explored all of the different cupboards, boxes and shelves in the cabin's common room. He was incredibly grateful that Luke was so easily amused given the tension that still existed between him and Anakin. The tension was no longer as great as it had originally been, but the animosity was still tangible.

"I keep trying, but I still can't figure out why you're helping me," Anakin admitted once all the servers and gears powered up.

Obi-Wan was silent for a few moments, trying to figure out how best to answer. Anakin has never been one to settle for half-truths and Obi-Wan doubted that the younger man would believe he'd done what he had out of affection for him. Affection hadn't stopped what happened on Mustafar. However, that was as much Anakin's fault as it was his.

"Luke should have the chance to know his father," was the answer he decided upon. Then, taking a deep breath, he looked up and met Anakin's penetrating gaze. "It's also my hope that I can save you now since I was not able to in the past."

"I didn't need saving," Anakin insisted, sounding as petulant as he had as a teenager.

He tired his best, but Obi-Wan couldn't stop the smile that tugged at the corners of his lips. "Need I point out that barely twenty-four hours ago your arms and legs were basically scrap metal?"

"A few burnt out circuits that any repair droid on the Death Star could have fixed," Anakin scowled, looking everywhere but at Obi-Wan.

"You're welcome."

Setting aside his tools, Obi-Wan rose from the bed and went out into the main part of the cabin. There was no point in trying to force a conversation with Anakin, it simply wouldn't work. He'd never known anyone as stubborn as Anakin and was fairly certain that had only become more pronounced over the past four years.

"Daddy, lookit this!" Luke cried as soon as he entered the common room. The blonde whirlwind charged up to him, a holopad in clutched tight in his hands. "Lookit! It's you n' Papa!"

Luke was utterly giddy, shoving the holopad into his hands. Obi-Wan fumbled with it for a moment, nearly dropping it as Luke shoved it hastily at him. When he did see what Luke had given him, Obi-Wan couldn't prevent a grin. It was indeed him and Anakin, both of them standing in absurd, but no doubt what others would consider heroic, positions, on the cover of a holonovel. Obi-Wan had known that a great many such holonovels had been produced during the Clone Wars, but he'd never thought to see one. During the wars he'd had no interest in them and later, once the Jedi had been declared traitors, such publications had been banned and destroyed. However, holiday cabins such as the one they were currently dwelling in, were highly prone to things being left behind and forgotten.

"This what Papa looked like wif hair?" Luke asked, tugging on the edge of the holopad so that he could peer at the image displayed. "An' no big owies?"

Obi-Wan crouched down so that he was at Luke's level, grinning over at the little boy. "This is indeed what your father looked like. Years ago, before you were born, when we were both very different people."

"That's not how it happened and you know it."

Sighing, Obi-Wan rested one knee on the ground so that he was able to turn his upper body towards Anakin. The younger man was standing at the entrance to the common room dressed in only his trousers, having replaced the synthleather gloves and boots that covered his prosthetic limbs. Everything about him, however, radiated barely contained fury. The fact that he was contained gave Obi-Wan at least some modicum of hope.

"I trust, Anakin, that you will recall what happened the last time you tried to force knowledge on Luke that was too far beyond his ability to comprehend and not do it a second time," Obi-Wan warned as he rose back to his full height. He lightly ruffled Luke's hair and handed him back the holopad and quietly instructed him to go play in his bedroom.

Anakin's scowl only deepened when Luke obeyed his request without comment. Luke paused briefly to show Anakin the image on the holopad before scurrying off to his bedroom, no doubt to search through it for more images in the files.

"He's _my _son," Anakin hissed, thankfully waiting until Luke was out of the room before speaking.

Obi-Wan inclined his head briefly. "I'm not denying that. However, at this time your judgement where he is concerned is somewhat impaired. I only have Luke's best intentions in mind."

Anakin glowered at him, stalking across the room so that he stood directly in front of Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan took the time to note that there didn't seem to be any uneven or jerky movements in Anakin's stride. He allowed himself a moment of pride at the fact that he'd managed to sufficiently repair Anakin's damaged limbs.

The air around Anakin was vibrating slightly. Not enough to shake the entire cabin, but noticeable nonetheless. Obi-Wan had to bite his tongue to prevent himself from reprimanding the younger man. Such a thing would do nothing except aggravate Anakin further. He'd spent enough time with Anakin during his adolescence to be able to read his ever-fluctuating moods.

As he watched, Anakin visibly pulled himself back, breathing deeply to control his emotions. Obi-Wan sighed internally and watched Anakin as he stalked out of the cabin. It was probably for the best that one of them left as things would undoubtedly get said that they'd later regret. Anakin was the only person who'd ever be able to lose control of his emotions. Luke was a close second in that category by virtue of him simply having known Anakin longer than Luke's four years of life.

Leaving Luke to his own devices in the smaller bedroom, Obi-Wan slumped down onto the sofa in the common room. He'd been well aware that the situation with Anakin would be volatile when he'd brought the younger man with them. What he had hoped to avoid was the constant butting of heads that had made up Anakin's adolescence. There had been so many times when Anakin was a teenager that he'd barely resisted the urge to shove Anakin off their small balcony. He certainly couldn't recall being that hormonal during his teenage years.

The difference with their current situation was the sheer amount of power and control Anakin possessed within the Force. Anakin was the most powerful being, Jedi or Sith, to ever exist and he could do some serious damage if he set his mind to it. And if Anakin was anything, it was unpredictable. A single throw-away sentence could set him off and destroy any of the trust Obi-Wan was trying to rebuild between them.

"I'm getting far too old for this," Obi-Wan groaned, longing at that moment for nothing more than the bottle of Corellian Ale that had been in his cupboards back in their old home. He'd never been much of a drinker, but there were times when the situation called for a stiff drink. Dealing with an extremely volatile Anakin was definitely one of those situations.

_"Master, are you _drunk?_"_

_Obi-Wan glowered at Anakin from where he was sprawled on the floor in the middle of the common room. "I most certainly am not drunk. I'm meditating."_

"_Meditating? Is that what they call it now?" Anakin chuckled as he strode across the room. He crouched down next to Obi-Wan, amusement clear in his eyes. "It looks like you finished off that bottle of Corellian Ale that was pretty much full this morning."_

"_I finished it?" Obi-Wan sat up far too quickly, the room spinning about him. One hand to his head, Obi-Wan breathed deeply for several seconds as the world slowly righted itself around him._

_It took him a moment to focus on the empty blue bottle that Anakin held in his hand._

"_I finished it."_

_He scowled at the bottle, snatching it out of Anakin's hand and turning it over._

"_Come along, Master," Anakin said, reaching over to haul Obi-Wan to his feet. _

_The older Jedi was far more wobbly than he would have liked, but he was able to remain upright under his own power. He stared at Anakin, unable to wrap his mind around his padawan's behaviour when only a few hours before the younger man had been ranting and shouting at him._

"_I'm sorry, Master," Anakin said quietly, squeezing his hand briefly. "I forgot what day it was."_

"_You barely knew him," Obi-Wan murmured, breathing in deeply to quell the emotions welling up in him._

"_It doesn't mean I should forget the day he died," Anakin insisted. "I should at least try not to antagonize you once a year."_

_Despite himself, Obi-Wan felt a smile tugging at his lips._

In their current situation, Obi-Wan knew there would be no apology from Anakin. He didn't expect or even want one. Obi-Wan had no idea how to define his and Anakin's current relationship. If there even was one. The only thing holding them together at the moment is Luke. Obi-Wan was fairly certain that Anakin would have killed him were it not for Luke's presence.

Even if Anakin never forgave him for what happened on Mustafar, Obi-Wan simply wanted Anakin to be whole once again. There were so many broken bits that made up the man he would always consider his best friend. Obi-Wan knew that he was just as guilty as anyone else who'd played a part in Anakin's downfall. The High Council and Palpatine had been forcing Anakin in completely different directions and he hadn't noticed. If he'd paid more attention, he could have done something to stop it.

"I'm sorry, Anakin," Obi-Wan murmured, scrubbing a hand over his jaw. The words were ones that he should have said to the other man a long time ago, but that he never seemed to be able to say. "I'm so very sorry."

xxxxxxxxxx

Daddy and Papa were happy. They were laughing and smiling, arms wrapped around each other. He'd seen Daddy look happy before, but it was a different happy. And Papa almost didn't look like Papa. He had no scars and still had hair and was smiling big and happy. They were on some funny planet without trees, just lots of mountains and sand. Daddy hated sand.

_"You're trying to drive me crazy, aren't you? Turn all of my hair grey?" General Obi-Wan Kenobi accused the other Jedi. There was no anger in his voice, only amused frustration and affection._

_General Skywalker smirked, dropping his gear into a heap on the dusty ground. "I'm doing nothing of the sort, Master. You simply worry far too much."_

It was fun getting to hear Daddy and Papa being action heroes. The voices on the holonovel weren't Daddy and Papa, but they sounded almost like them. He could pretend that it was them and listen while he looked at all the images and vid clips on the datapad. Luke knew that it was just a story, that Daddy and Papa didn't really say the things the voices did, but the images were still real.

_The Negotiator and The Hero With No Fear stood side by side, surveying the valley that separate their camp from the nearby droid army. The day was theirs, but there was still much to be done. The war was far from over._


	18. Part XVII

**Part XVII**

He stalked about, fuming, but trying his best to contain the emotion. There was no sign of any wildlife in the area, all of the forest silent. Anakin wanted to be furious with Obi-Wan. He wanted to obliterate the older man, to trap him in the same kind of prison he'd endured since Mustafar. He hated Obi-Wan more than he hated the creatures that had killed his mother. Everything had been perfect until Obi-Wan had started interfering. Obi-Wan always thought he knew better than him, never admitting when he was wrong or made a mistake. And, for so long, he'd fawned over the older Jedi, believing every lie that fell from his lips.

Scowling, Anakin dropped down onto a fallen log. He curled his durasteel fingers into the gnarled grooves of the bark, cracking chunks of it off. Anakin craved the arid deserts of his childhood. The lush greenery of Endor did nothing but aggravate him for reasons that he didn't know. It would be so easy to take Luke and run far away so that Obi-Wan could never find them. It was what he should do. Only, to run away from Obi-Wan now meant never making the man pay for all that he had done.

It certainly wasn't because of Luke.

Anakin knew all of the things Obi-Wan or Yoda (or even Gui-Gon) would think about his reasons for remaining on Endor, but none of them were true. For the time being, he had no choice but to stay with Obi-Wan. For all the resources he'd had only a few days before, his betrayal of Sidious would have neutralized all those resources. He no longer had any access to his funds and while he could easily steal the craft Obi-Wan had stolen from the Death Star's hanger deck, Obi-Wan would expect him to do as much and take precautions to prevent him. As much as he hated to admit it, Obi-Wan knew him well enough to be able to guess his actions.

It wouldn't be permanent, though. Because just as Obi-Wan would be able to predict his actions, the same was true for him. His former Master was far too predictable. Obi-Wan was trustful. Too trustful. So long as he could convince Obi-Wan that he wanted to return to his life as a Jedi, the older man would believe him.

Breathing as deeply as he was able, Anakin sought to clear his surface thoughts. Obi-Wan would be able to pick up his surface thoughts without any effort whatsoever. What he wanted to do would need to be buried deep. So deep that Obi-Wan would never be able to find it.

Pushing himself up off the log he'd been sitting on, Anakin shook his entire body, trying to dispel the tension that still tightened his muscles. When that failed, he punched his fist into a nearby tree. Mostly free of the tension that frizzled through him, Anakin turned back towards the cottage.

He was relieved not to see Obi-Wan in the common room. It gave him those few extra minutes to compose himself. The older man would be somewhere nearby—he wouldn't have left Luke on his own—but the silence that greeted his return was welcome.

It lasted barely a minute.

Luke's hysterical giggles were what broke the silence. Anakin couldn't help the smile that spread across his face at the sound of his son's laughter. He'd missed so much of Luke's life... all because of Obi-Wan and Yoda. Anakin wasn't naïve enough to think that Obi-Wan would turn on him without coercion. Obi-Wan had been his best friend and never would have betrayed him unless that little troll had turned his mind against him.

Walking towards the other bedroom where Luke's laughter was coming from, Anakin stopped short when he heard a second voice.

_".... Blaster fire rained all around them, ricocheting off the matching blue lightsabers. Generals Kenobi and Skywalker fought back to back in the centre of the fray...."_

It was the holonovel that Luke had found earlier. He couldn't blame his son for being curious, but he'd rather Luke not look into that part of his past. He wanted to forget the years he'd been a Jedi—thirteen years of his life that had been nothing but a lie. Anakin had believed in Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan and in the end it had destroyed his life.

"Luke?" Anakin said quietly from the doorway that led into his son's room.

Flopping about on the bed until he was facing the door, Luke beamed at him. "Hey, Papa! Did you see? It's about you and Daddy. 'Bout how you fighted all the bad guy an' made 'em stop being mean."

Swallowing his frustration, Anakin managed a small smile for his son. "Is that so?"

"Uh huh," Luke said, nodding his head vigorously. "It also says that you and Daddy are bestest friends." Luke frowned then, setting the holonovel aside. "How come you don't like Daddy anymore? Daddy still likes you."

"It's... it's complicated," Anakin decided on eventually. It would have reassured his son to tell him that he still liked Obi-Wan, but it would be a lie. The best way to wrest Luke's affection from his "Daddy" was gently. It was something that he could do. After all, he'd spent thirteen years learning from the master himself.

Luke scowled at him briefly. "That's what Daddy says when he doesn't wanna tell me. I don't like compicated." He stared defiantly at his father, little shoulders held high. "I love Daddy. Daddy tells me stories and he makes cheesy noodles. Daddy makes the bestest cheesy noodles."

"He used to make me cheesy noodles when I was young," Anakin said before he could stop himself.

Before Anakin could say anything further, Luke had scrambled off the bed and darted towards the door. For a moment, Anakin thought Luke was coming to him, but the little boy scurried around him and went deeper into the cabin. To the main bedroom and the 'fresher it contained. Luke didn't so much as hesitate as he ran into the room where, from the sounds of it, Obi-Wan was showering.

"Daddy! Daddy! You need to make cheesy noodles! Papa said he likes cheesy noodles too!" Luke shouted, his small hands beating against a solid surface within the 'fresher. Having lived in close quarters with Obi-Wan his entire life, Anakin wouldn't have been surprised if Luke was knocking on the door of the 'fresher stall itself. It's what he'd done often in the past. Obi-Wan was too far away for Anakin to clearly make out his response, but from Luke's delighted laughter it was positive.

It frustrated Anakin that Obi-Wan related to Luke so easily. At the Temple, Obi-Wan had always seemed so flustered by the younglings. Even the beginning of their relationship had been filled with countless awkward silences and Obi-Wan fumbling to find something to say or struggling to discover a way to interact with him. He'd hoped to find that the same was true with his relationship with Luke.

"What have I told you about coming in while I'm showering?" Obi-Wan asked, his voice clearer than it had been a few moments before.

The dramatic sigh that followed nearly brought a smile to Anakin's face. "Not t' do it. 'Cause shower time is Daddy's time an' I hafta wait till yer all finished.... But Papa likes cheesy noodles too! Can you please please _iplease/i_ make us cheesy noodles?"

When Obi-Wan laughed in response to the little boy's excited questioning, it took all of his remaining self-restraint to keep from stalking out of the cabin once again. Anakin refused to let Obi-Wan win. In the end, he would be the last one standing in Luke's affections.

"Papa, Daddy's gonna make cheesy noodles!" Luke shouted as he barreled into Anakin's legs.

Never before had close contact been an issue with his prosthetics and, as a result, rather than crashing into his father's legs, Luke's own legs collided with something unyielding. Before he had a chance to react, Luke was down on his bottom and rubbing at his knee The little boy didn't outright cry, but his eyes were noticeably damp as Anakin knelt down in front of him.

"Ouch."

There was surprise in Luke's statement and he stared up at Anakin with wide eyes, rubbing his left knee. Anakin immediately reached out, trying to draw Luke into his arms, but his son pulled back. Luke didn't turn away from him or even flinch. The boy merely sunk into himself a bit, his shoulders hunching, as he turned his head back towards the main bedroom.

"Daddy, how come Papa's legs are like trees?"

Luke scrambled to his feet and walked back towards Obi-Wan who was emerging from the bedroom. He glanced back at Anakin then down at his own legs, confused.

Obi-Wan ruffled Luke's hair as he passed him, inclining his head briefly in Anakin's direction, his expression one that Anakin couldn't read. "His legs aren't tree trunks. His prosthetics simply lack a synthflesh overlay which would give them a more squishy feel."

"Oh. Okay."

It was as simple as that. Luke scampered back into the smaller bedroom to retrieve the holonovel, bringing it with him out into the main common room. In the space of only a few seconds, both he and Obi-Wan had been forgotten. Anakin stayed standing near the edge of the common room, watching as Luke wiggled about on one of the plush chairs. Against his will, his eyes darted towards Obi-Wan as well.

The older man was in the kitchenette making tea. It was always tea. Obi-Wan's obsession with tea had been slightly worrying at times when he was younger and still trusted the older man. Still thought him worthy of respect. Now he was merely a faded figure from his faded past. Before long, once he had Luke's trust and devotion secured, he would never have to deal with Obi-Wan again. The man could be put firmly in his past where he belonged.

"Quit your festering," Obi-Wan said without looking over his shoulder. His voice was quiet enough that Luke wouldn't be able to hear over the sound of his holonovel. "Luke came to me because it's what he does. Your son has thousands of questions a day and for his entire life I've been the one answering them. Give him a chance to spend time with you and he'll turn to you with his endless questions."

Anakin opened his mouth, ready to refute Obi-Wan's claims, but he was beat to it.

"The blame for what happened is not entirely mine. You carry a fair share of it. I did all that I could, but without knowing all of the facts, how could you expect me to help or save you? Was I wrong to confront you about Palpatine? Yes, I was. I should have handled the Council's request differently. But you could have come to me. You had so many chances to stop it and you ignored each one." Obi-Wan paused, staring out the window at the landscape beyond. "I would have stood by you, Anakin. If you had let me, I would have stood by you."

Whatever response he would have made was lost as Obi-Wan turned suddenly and stalked into the common room. He paused briefly, telling Luke to behave and listen to Anakin before leaving the small cottage.

Anakin merely stared after him, not sure how he to react. All of the anger he felt towards Obi-Wan was still there, but he'd been caught off guard. He hadn't expected Obi-Wan's anger. For all the years he'd known him, Anakin could only recall seeing the older man lose his temper a handful of times, most of them occurring either when he was drunk or in pain. It had never, not even on Mustafar, been directed at him.

"Yer 'sposed to say sorry," Luke called from the common room. The holonovel was resting on his drawn-up knees, but his attention was on Anakin. "You did something that made Daddy sad so now you've gotta go say sorry."

"When he apologizeses for taking you from me," Anakin said before he could stop himself.

Whatever Luke's reponse, Anakin did expect the anger that was directed at him then. The mug behind him flew across the counter, crashing into the wall.

"Daddy didn't take me 'way from you. He kept me safe from the monster."

"What monster?"

Luke shuddered a little bit, curling up on himself even more. "The bad man with the scary face. He took you away."

Once again, Anakin found himself without a response. He wouldn't have put it past Palpatine to try and abduct Luke. Luke was someone he could have trained from birth, someone he could mold into his ideal Sith. And though he would never admit it to Obi-Wan, he had to be grateful that Obi-Wan had kept Luke safe from Palpatine. It had taken Anakin himself too long to realize that he was being manipulated by the Sith Lord. As a result, he'd lost Padme, several limbs, and Luke's trust; to say nothing of the fact that he'd helped to destroy the galaxy and laid waste to the Jedi Order.

"He's gone now, Luke. Palpatine's gone."

Luke stared straight at him, refusig to let Anakin break his gaze. "Tell Daddy yer sorry."

Sitting on one of the free chairs, Anakin leaned forward with his forearms resting on his knees. "Luke, there's a lot you don't know about. A lot you don't understand. I can't just—"

"Daddy loves you. He'd say sorry."

Luke slid off the chair, holonovel in hand, and went back into his bedroom. The quiet swish of the door closing sounded very loud in the quiet cabin.


	19. Part XVIII

**Part XVIII**

It took a bit longer to calm his temper than he would have liked. Anakin was lashing out just as he always had—hoping to inspire some type of reaction from those around him. In the past, Obi-Wan had always been able to ignore Anakin's cries for attention. Incidents that would have Mace ranting about Anakin's seemingly countless failures as a Jedi had barely registered to Obi-Wan. He wasn't sure if it was lack of practice or newfound wellsprings of surliness in Anakin's personality, but Obi-Wan knew that it couldn't continue. For Luke's sake, one of them had to remain calm if their shaky detente was to stand any chance of surviving.

Confident as he was that Anakin wouldn't try to spirit Luke away, Obi-Wan still chose not to wander far from the cabin. They were close enough to both the Water Moon and the Emperor's massive satellite that it was entirely possible for Sidious' men could find them. And since Obi-Wan himself was the only one with an actual weapon, he wanted to remain close to Luke at all times.

There was a brief flare of anger on the very edge of his consciousness and Obi-Wan was startled to realize that Luke was the source of it. The upset faded nearly as suddenly as it had appeared, but it was still wholly unexpected. Obi-Wan couldn't recall a single incident where Luke had manifested true anger. He'd thrown plenty of tantrums when he was very young, but those usually had far more to do with annoyance and frustration than actual anger.

"You truly are your father's son," Obi-Wan mused as he stepped over a fallen log.

Anakin had never held much patience for fools either.

The moment the thought crossed his mind Obi-Wan silently apologized for it. If there was any chance of breaking the stranglehold the darkness still had on Anakin, he would have to steer clear of such thoughts.

Night was setting in far quicker than Obi-Wan had expected, so he somewhat reluctantly headed back to the cabin. He would have preferred a tavern and a few strong drinks, but Luke needed his supper and he doubted that Anakin's less than stellar cooking skills had improved at all over the past few years.

As he followed the path back to the cabin, Obi-Wan allowed Endor's tranquil atmosphere to seep into his mind. The soft rustle of wind through the leaves and the chattering of birds were quite soothing when combined with his own steady footsteps. There was a tribe of Ewoks a few clicks to the north and their peaceful presence in the Force helped to further balance Obi-Wan slightly fractured nerves.

The cabin was quiet as he approached, something that Obi-Wan had not expected. There were lights visible throughout the cabin casting a cheery glow in the midst of the ever-darkening forest. The calm radiating from inside was slightly worrying, but then he'd been accused by many people of being a pessimist over the years.

Obi-Wan had barely set foot in the cabin when he was brought up short. Sitting on the table in the center of the common room was a small teapot with steam curling lazily from the spout. A single mug sat next to it along with a sugar bowl.

It was an apology that he hadn't been expecting.

* * *

A child's displeasure was a truly daunting thing. Even without Luke there in the room with him, there was no mistaking the little boy's anger. And while he wanted to appease his son, Anakin wasn't prepared to admit to any wrongdoing in his last confrontation with Obi-Wan. Anakin merely didn't want to alienate Luke.

Tea was the best option he could think of that would placate both Obi-Wan and Luke. Obi-Wan had always had a fondness for tea that bordered on obsessive. Anakin had learned very quickly how to prepare tea just to his master's liking when he'd first arrived on Coruscant. In the ensuing years, Anakin had made countless pots of tea in hopes of easing the older man's displeasure for whatever ill-advised antic he'd taken part in.

Leaving the teapot on the center table, Anakin retreated to the back of the cabin. He had no desire to see Obi-Wan's reaction to his peace offering and he'd noticed that one of the servos in his left wrist was slightly out of sync. Repairing it wouldn't take long, but it offered at least a temporary distraction. Loathe as he was to admit it, staying hidden away on the Forest Moon was their best option while they waited to find out the reaction to the Emperor's death. With luck, Sidious' death would draw Yoda out of hiding and he could exact his revenge on the ancient Jedi master.

By the time he heard Obi-Wan return to the cabin, Anakin had several of the larger gears out and was busy recalibrating the troublesome servo. There was no acknowledgement of the tea left waiting for him, but even from the back bedroom Anakin could feel a slight lessening of the tension that had been swirling around Obi-Wan for most of the day.

"Daddy's making cheesy noodles. Wha'cha doin'?"

Apparently his leaving the tea out had been enough to make amends with Luke. Anakin offered his son a tight smile, the bulk of his attention focused on the finicky gears in his left wrist.

"I'm realigning some of the components in my wrist," Anakin explained, carefully adjusting the sonic screwdriver he was using. Placing it next to him on the bed, Anakin gestured for Luke to come into the room. "Can you hand me that sensor from the end of the bed?"

Luke eagerly jumped to help, nearly tripping over his feet in his haste to grab the sensor. It was a struggle for Anakin to keep the smile from his face as Luke eagerly began chattering away, asking question after question about what he was doing. Anakin explained things as best he could, keeping the less technical information out of it since Luke was far too young to understand it all.

The only problem was the frequency that Luke brought Obi-Wan into the conversation. Nearly everything that he did was compared to things that Luke had seen Obi-Wan do over the years. Anakin knew that he shouldn't hold such things against the little boy, but it was difficult not to feel slighted. Soon enough it would be over, though. Anakin would take Luke far away from Obi-Wan and his son would begin to forget the traitor who'd stolen him. Luke was his son and Anakin meant to ensure that fact wasn't in doubt.

"Can you go swimming?"

The question caught Anakin off guard and he struggled for a moment to even think of a response.

"I took my robot swimming once and it got all smoky and sparky next time I turned it on," Luke continued without waiting for Anakin's response. "Daddy had to fix it. Only it wouldn't walk in straight lines anymore."

"I can go swimming," Anakin assured him, glad to hear that Obi-Wan apparently wasn't all-powerful by Luke's reckoning.

Luke seemed satisfied with his answer. He hopped off the bed and went running back into the main part of the cabin. Judging by the smell wafting into the bedroom, Obi-Wan was nearly finished with dinner. Given Luke's earlier excitement over Obi-Wan's promise to make cheesy noodles, the boy obviously had a deep love for the food. Anakin couldn't help remembering how much of a treat Obi-Wan's cheesy noodles had been when he was a padawan. They were something so unlike everything else the Jedi Temple served in its cafeteria and Obi-Wan had made them so rarely that he'd felt special whenever they were on offer. Which was likely the reason Obi-Wan had chosen to make them then.

Anakin looked up from his work when he heard Luke's quick footsteps hurrying back towards the bedroom. "Papa, supper's ready!"

The little boy didn't stop before turning and bolting back in the other direction. Anakin had little choice but to follow even though his work on his arm wasn't completely finished. It only took a few moments to get the limb functional enough to survive dinner then he left his quiet sanctuary for the uncertainty of the cabin's common areas.

Whether his truce with the older man would survive the meal remained to be seen.

* * *

Supper was as strained as Obi-Wan had expected. While there was no longer any outright animosity, it was hardly a relaxed meal. Even Luke seemed effected by it, only picking at his food instead of devouring it like he normally did. Obi-Wan did what he could to distract Luke, telling him about the river that ran not far from the cabin and promising to take him the next day. That seemed to brighten Luke's mood up somewhat, but it was still obvious that he was upset about the tension between him and Anakin.

"I'm going to go check the Holonet transmissions on the starfighter," Obi-Wan announced as he cleared his plate from the table. As he crossed behind Luke's chair, he ruffled the boy's hair. "You, young man, need to get ready for bed."

"But we just had dinner," Luke protested, twisting his head about so he could see Obi-Wan. "Bedtime's not till a long time after supper."

"Normally, yes, but we ate supper late today."

Even with his back to the little boy, Obi-Wan could feel him scowling from across the room. Luke didn't protest, though. There was some discontented grumbling, but he continued to eat his dinner.

"He'll try and talk you out of it, but make sure that he bathes," Obi-Wan advised Anakin, his lips curving into a grin at Luke's slightly outraged squawk.

Anakin seemed to hesitate for a moment, his mouth working as he tried to figure out just what to say. "You'll tell me what the transmissions say? No matter what they say?"

"I'll download a copy onto one of the ship's holochips for you to read yourself," Obi-Wan assured him.

That appeared to satisfy Anakin. He kept a wary eye on him, but the bulk of Anakin's attention was on Luke. The little boy had already forgotten about him imminent bedtime and was cheerfully telling Anakin about his favourite seaside activities.

Obi-Wan kept his senses on high alert as he made his way through the darkness towards the stolen starfighter. While the moon itself had no dominant predator, Obi-Wan couldn't be sure that no one had followed them from the Death Star. He'd done his best to inquire unobtrusively in town about any news from the greater galaxy, but as of that morning news of the Emperor's death hadn't reached the Forest Moon. The only worthwhile information Obi-Wan had been able to obtain was the location of the nearby river.

The night before Obi-Wan had landed the stolen starfighter in a small clearing a few hundred yards from the cabin. He followed the same path that he had with both Luke and Anakin, his awareness tuned outwards. There were only a few small mammals that he could sense at the moment, hardly anything to worry about. Still, Obi-Wan kept his pace brisk, so that he wouldn't be left exposed for too long.

Once in the starfighter, Obi-Wan began scanning the Holonet for any information he could find on Sidious' death. He scanned both Empire and Rebel channels, but could find no mention whatsoever of the Emperor's death or Vader's defection. Not even the slightest hint.

"Most troubling," Obi-Wan murmured, lifting his right hand to stroke his jaw. He was more certain than ever that he should contact Yoda, but didn't want to risk it. Not with Anakin and Luke so close and vulnerable to either side. Well-intentioned as he was sure that Yoda would be, Anakin was in no frame of mind to cope with such a confrontation. Obi-Wan wasn't sure when he ever would be.

True to his word, Obi-Wan uploaded any information that would be of interest to Anakin onto an empty holochip. In a fit of nostalgia, he also included the latest pod racing standings.

Obi-Wan checked the Holonet recordings a second time just to be certain before returning to the cabin. Luke's slightly fuzzy presence on the edge of his awareness was a quick indication that Anakin had managed to coax the little boy into bed. From Anakin himself, Obi-Wan wasn't sure what to make of the swirl of emotions he could feel twisting about the younger man. He peered through one of the cabin's open windows, hoping that actually seeing Anakin would help clear up the confusion. Anakin was seated on the sofa in the common room, listening to the recording on the holopad Luke had found that afternoon. Obi-Wan heard less than a sentence before the younger man quickly turned it off, but it was enough.

_... always Kenobi and Skywalker together._

The emotion that he felt from Anakin then wasn't quite fondness, but then it wasn't anger either. It was a start, or so he hoped.


	20. Part XIX

**XIX**

The look on Obi-Wan's face was one that Anakin knew far too well. Something had unsettled him. It was no challenge to figure out the source of Obi-Wan's unease, but the cause of it was more difficult. The fact that the older man wasn't stalking about in an outright panic was encouraging. That meant Luke wasn't in any immediate danger.

Obi-Wan tossed a datachip in his direction before moving towards the small kitchenette—no doubt to make himself yet another cup of tea. Anakin caught it easily and used the Force to call a holopad over to him. When he was a padawan, Obi-Wan had always chided him for such arbitrary uses of the Force. If he saw it then, the other man chose not to comment on it. Anakin sneered. No doubt it was another attempt on Obi-Wan's part to avoid a confrontation. Even while being hunted, his former master was determined to keep the peace. It made him wonder just how Obi-Wan had managed to survive so long in the face in the Jedi Purges.

As soon as he began skimming the files Obi-Wan had downloaded onto the datachip, Anakin realized the cause of Obi-Wan's unease. There was no mention of Palpatine's death. Not even the smallest hint of it in any of the codes the Empire used in its broadcasts. Anakin was somewhat surprised that Grand Moff Tarkin didn't take the chance to discredit him. Tarkin hated him. So much so that Anakin had expected that he would use the opportunity to ensure that Darth Vader's role in the Empire was eradicated for good. It's what he would have done if the situation was reversed. Sidious had always encouraged discord between them, pitting them against each other for his favour.

"I was hoping that you could shed light on the situation," Obi-Wan called from the kitchen. "I had expected to find our faces splashed across every channel. This silence is rather unnerving."

Though the words nearly choked him, Anakin could think of no other response. "I don't know."

Obi-Wan's sigh was palpable even if he was too far away to actually hear it. The older man didn't press him, though, taking him at his word. As he emerged from the kitchen, there was no disguising the worry clouding Obi-Wan's features. Obi-Wan had apparently become a lot less strict when it came to guarding his feelings. There was a time when Anakin would have given anything to know what Obi-Wan was thinking. But that was a lifetime ago and what Obi-Wan thought no longer concerned him.

"Do you believe it's safe enough for us to return to the Water Moon?"

Anakin knew that he was less than successful at hiding his shock. Even now Anakin couldn't say that he wouldn't gladly kill the other man, yet Obi-Wan was acting as though they were still partners. Anakin refused to believe that Obi-Wan could so easily overlook everything that he'd done since aligning himself to Palpatine. He still hadn't forgiven Obi-Wan for siding with Yoda against him. Things would have been so different if Obi-Wan had just ignored the meddling troll and stood beside him at the fall of the Republic. They could have destroyed Sidious together and created their own empire; one not hampered by the constraints of the Jedi. No one would have been able to stop them.

"Anakin, please. I need to know if it's safe. Will Palpatine's men be looking for us there?" Obi-Wan pressed, interrupting Anakin's thoughts.

"We'd be fools to go there so soon," Anakin informed him, not glancing up from the holopad. He was busy scanning the pod racing statistics Obi-Wan had downloaded onto the datachip. Anakin missed the days when he'd been able to sneak away from his duties at the Temple to take part in the races. The speed, the exhilaration, and the simple knowledge that he was doing something forbidden had made it more thrilling than it already was. Even though Anakin was fully aware that he wasn't fooling Obi-Wan, they'd never actually discussed it. Obi-Wan had let him have that.

"Tarkin will expect us to run to Rebellion-friendly systems. It's what I'd thought you would do once you realized that I'd found you." Anakin switched the holopad off and tossed it aside. "So, no, Tarkin and the rest won't be looking for you on the Water Moon. Why is it so important that we go back there?"

It was only after the fact that Anakin realized that he'd included himself in Obi-Wan's future plans. That he'd said "we" instead of "you." He couldn't take the word back, though. He could only hope that Obi-Wan hadn't noticed. Of course, after so long working alongside Obi-Wan, he knew that there was very little that Obi-Wan ever missed.

"There are things that need retrieving. A few relics of the past."

Obi-Wan was as vague as always, not that Anakin had expected anything different. Even more frustrating was the fact that Anakin couldn't deny the fact that he was intrigued by Obi-Wan's description. Knowing Obi-Wan as he did, Anakin suspected the older man was after something he'd secreted away from the Jedi Temple at the beginning of the Purge. Perhaps even some remnant of the life they'd shared together for thirteen years. Or even something of Padmé's that he'd kept for Luke.

"You're hardly sentimental enough to risk your life over something trivial." Anakin hadn't actually meant to say the words aloud. Thankfully Obi-Wan didn't react beyond taking another sip of tea. There was no denying the truth of what he'd said. Obi-Wan definitely wouldn't risk his life for something if he didn't think it was necessary.

"These items are hardly trivial," Obi-Wan assured him as he lowered the cup.

XXXXXXXXXX

Even though he wished it were otherwise, Obi-Wan doubted that Anakin's calm demeanor would last. At least not at first. He was counting on Anakin's extended exposure to his son to help lead him away from the all-consuming forces of the Dark Side and his own anger. Luke was proving to be a very calming influence on Anakin and Obi-Wan wanted to nurture their relationship as much as possible. It was likely too late for himself and his former padawan, but if Anakin was able to let go of his hatred and find some measure of peace, it would be enough.

"Feel free to take the bedroom in the back," Obi-Wan offered as he reached for one of the holonovels Luke had found during his exploration of the cottage. "There is no longer any need for us to share quarters and you're far too tall to sleep comfortably on the sofa."

Anakin's mouth opened in an instant refusal, but he never voiced it. Obi-Wan had intended as much and inclined his head briefly in Anakin's direction as the younger man stormed out of the room.

In many ways, he had hoped that Anakin would simply outright refuse. Obi-Wan's body ached in ways that it hadn't since Jabiim and he would have loved nothing more than to sleep away an entire cycle. With Anakin there acting as a distraction for Luke, he might just have managed it. Instead he would get as much sleep as he could and hope the effects of the Sith lightning would have faded away by morning. He'd promised Luke a trip to the river after all.

Now that he'd truly stopped for the first time since his confrontation with Anakin at the waterfall, Obi-Wan was slowly becoming aware of the various aches and pains throughout his body. It had always been easy to push such things aside when there were other things to focus on. Anakin had always proved a welcome distraction during the Clone Wars and had done so again after Sidious' death. But now that Anakin could deal with whatever mechanical issues still remained in his durasteel limbs, Obi-Wan could no long ignore his body's quite fervent attempts to gain his attention.

Listening with half an ear as Anakin puttered about in the back bedroom, Obi-Wan went to retrieve a pillow and some blankets from the hallway cupboard. Luke's peaceful Force signature was a soothing balm to his quite frazzled nerves. There had been a time—a lifetime ago now—that Anakin's presence had been equally comforting in the wake of Qui Gon's death. Before things had gotten out of control and Anakin had succumbed to his fears and anger.

Gathering up two pillows and a blanket, Obi-Wan lowered the lighting in the common room with an errant wave of his hand. He quickly made up his bed then removed his tunic and boots. Looking at the singed and slightly rank state of his tunic, Obi-Wan made a mental note to try and clean his and Luke's clothing while they were at the river since, sadly, the cottage didn't contain washer. The very site of them was enough to steer Obi-Wan towards the 'fresher. He hoped that a shower would coax the last bit of wakefulness from his mind.

Obi-Wan palmed the door to the 'fresher open, trying to twist the kinks out of his neck as he moved. He turned the water onto its highest tolerable setting before shedding his trousers and undergarments. Obi-Wan left them in a heap in the middle of the floor then stepped under the heavy spray of water.

"Ahh yes," he sighed, tilting his head forward so that the water pounded directly on the back of his neck. He stayed like that for several long minutes, his hands pressed against the tile wall before him. As he flexed his fingers, Obi-Wan glanced up, his attention drawn to his hands.

Flesh where Anakin's were durasteel.

"I am sorry, my friend," Obi-Wan whispered, knowing that he wouldn't receive an absolution until he spoke the words to Anakin himself. One day he hoped to have the courage to do just that. He hadn't wanted to kill Anakin, but neither had he wanted to leave the other man as little more than a shell. He'd only wanted Anakin to listen.

With a choked off scream, Obi-Wan slammed his right fist into the 'fresher wall. The sound of the impact was only momentarily satisfying, as was the slight crack that appeared. The pain that radiated from his clenched fist all the way to his elbow was slightly troubling. Obi-Wan took several deep breaths, willing himself back to a calm state. One of them needed to be in control of his emotions and Anakin had always been incredibly volatile, even in his happiness.

Obi-Wan finished his shower quickly, his motions favouring his right hand. The relief that he'd hoped to find was absent. Instead, Obi-Wan felt even more tense and unnerved than before. He'd believed that he'd overcome his guilt, but faced with the reality of Anakin and the consequences of his own action, it had returned stronger than before.

After reluctantly putting his grubby trousers back on, Obi-Wan attempted to find a comfortable position on the sofa. It was just long enough to accommodate his body and only marginally suitable as a bed. Having slept in worse conditions, Obi-Wan resigned himself to a night of uneasy slumber and settled down into the sofa.

XXXXXXXXXX

Anakin rolled over to face the door as he felt the dark rumbling on the edge of his mind. In the past, such feelings had radiated from Sidious. A constant, pervasive hum of dark energy that he couldn't ignore except through distance. It was certainly not something that he'd ever thought to associate with Obi-Wan. He knew, just like everyone else who'd been present at the Battle of Naboo, just how close Obi-Wan had come to giving into the Dark Side of the Force. But it had just been the briefest of flirtations brought on by the pain of Qui Gon's passing. It had faded when he'd killed Darth Maul. In all the time in between, nearly two decades, Anakin had never felt such darkness coming from his former master.

For several long minutes, Anakin laid there staring towards the door. He searched tentatively along the ravaged remains of their training bond, seeking out the source of Obi-Wan's anger and frustration. Not enough of their former bond remained for him to get a clear picture, but Anakin briefly glimpsed his own face in the swirl of hazy thoughts. Obi-Wan must have become aware of his probing because all of his emotions shuttered themselves away a few minutes later before Anakin to find anything out.

Soon enough, the light under the door clicked off and Anakin was certain that Obi-Wan had gone to sleep. He settled back into the bed, but found that sleep was elusive. It was strange being so near Obi-Wan after so many years. During the wars they'd spent weeks on end cramped together in small tents, destroyer barracks or even in caves. Back then he'd never thought anything of it. But now being even two rooms away from him set Anakin's nerves on edge.

He wanted to flee. He wanted to get as far away from Obi-Wan as possible—put the entire galaxy between them. Yet even thought it would have been so easy to simply take Luke and disappear, he didn't. He could spirit Luke away while Obi-Wan slept that very night, but Anakin stayed right where he was, staring up at the shadowed ceiling. He silently cursed his wavering resolve. Only a week ago, he wouldn't have even hesitated. Obi-Wan would already be dead and forgotten.

More than an hour later, Anakin was still wide-awake. He glanced over at the chrono sitting on the nightstand, glaring at the numbers that stared back at him. With a frustrated groan, Anakin shoved the blankets aside and rolled out of the bed. He couldn't stay in the bed any longer. It was too late to go wandering around the unfamiliar terrain and he had nothing mechanical to tinker with, so a shower would have to do.

Anakin yawned loudly as he palmed open the door. He stumbled down the hallway and into the 'fresher, squinting as the lights flickered on. Once he blinked his vision clear, Anakin found himself staring at his own reflection. Even after more than a year, Anakin still despised his reflection. The scars stood out starkly in the harsh overhead lighting, and gave his skin an almost sickly bluish hue. Anakin barely refrained from wrenching the mirror from the wall. Taking several deep breaths, Anakin forced himself to remain calm. Obi-Wan wouldn't leave him alone with Luke if he was constantly losing his temper, and being alone with Luke was his best chance of weaning him away from his_ Daddy_.

As he stepped into the shower unit, Anakin couldn't contain a smirk. It appeared that he wasn't the only one who liked to lash out. Obi-Wan was usually far more reserved about displaying his emotions, but the crack in one of the tiles told a different story.

"Not so perfect after all," Anakin mused to himself, tracing his fingers over the fractured line.

Anakin took his time in the shower, leaning forward so that the water pounded over his back. After a few minutes, Anakin's eyes fell shut and he released a blissful sigh. Anakin kept his eyes closed for the remainder of his shower, not wanting to see the ruined terrain of his body through the steam. The sensors on the pads of his durasteel hands created a vivid enough picture in his mind of the damage Mustafar had left behind.

Anakin only left the 'fresher when the water began to run cold. He quickly slipped his trousers back on then left the room before the steam had a chance to evaporate from the mirror.

"Papa?"

Startled, Anakin's steps stuttered momentarily. It took him a few moments to find Luke in the dim lighting. His son was standing beside the sofa, staring down at Obi-Wan.

"What are you doing up, Luke?" Anakin yawned as he stepped into the common room. He didn't get too close to Obi-Wan, hoping that Luke would leave the sofa and come to him.

Instead the little boy put his hand on Obi-Wan's head.

"Daddy's having bad dreams. They're making him sad."

Anakin remained silent, knowing that Luke likely wouldn't approve of any of the responses he wanted to give. Looking down at the older man, Anakin could see the signs of strain on his face.

"We could all sleep in the big bedroom," Luke suggested, glancing up hopefully at him. "You didn't have bad dreams in the big bedroom."

It was on the tip of Anakin's tongue to refuse. He had no desire to be in such close quarters with Obi-Wan, but needed to keep Luke on his side.

"Go turn the blankets down."

In that moment, Luke's broad smile was enough to banish some of his darker thoughts. Once the little boy had bolted from the room, Anakin knelt down beside Obi-Wan. Focusing on their shredded bond, Anakin tried to coax Obi-Wan into a deeper sleep. Deep enough so his former master wouldn't wake up as he carried him from the common room into the main bedroom.

"I'm doing this for Luke," Anakin grumbled under his breath as he slid his arms under Obi-Wan's shoulders and knees. Reinforcing his movements with the Force, Anakin lifted the other man up off the sofa.

Luke was standing in the doorway of the back bedroom, bouncing from one foot to the other. He jumped back as Anakin got closer, scurrying over to the end of the bed to watch as Anakin set Obi-Wan down. Anakin had drawn the blankets up over Obi-Wan before he fully realized what he was doing.

"Thank you, Papa." The little boy launched himself at Anakin, wrapping his arms tight around Anakin's waist.

Reaching down, Anakin hoisted Luke up into his arms. Luke wound his arms and legs around Anakin's torso, holding tight. He couldn't stop the smile when Luke reached up to press a kiss against his cheek. Luke settled down in his arms then, already half asleep despite his earlier excitement. Anakin held his son against his chest for a few moments, reluctant to put him down.

"Time to sleep, Papa," Luke mumbled, snuffling his face against Anakin's neck.

Walking to the other side of the bed, Anakin set himself down on the mattress. He didn't release Luke. Instead, Anakin shifted about until he was able to lay down with his son still resting against his chest. With a wave of his fingers, Anakin called the blanket up to cover the both of them.

He was asleep a few minutes later.


	21. Part XX

**Part XX**

Obi-Wan had been surprised to wake up in the bedroom. Even more surprising was the fact that it was midmorning. The last time he'd slept that late was after an all-night scouting mission towards the end of the Wars. Anakin had purposely coaxed him into a deep sleep then threatened Cody and the rest to ensure that he wouldn't be disturbed. He would have expected such a thing from Luke if the boy had any type of serious control over the Force, but most of Luke's manipulations were emotional and spontaneous. Hardly the type of finesse needed to encourage sleep. That Anakin was responsible was even more of a shock.

Not quite sure what to make of the situation, he'd simply thanked Anakin when he saw the younger man. Anakin's grunted response was close to what he'd expected.

"Whacha doin', Daddy?" Luke asked, poking his head into the 'fresher while Obi-Wan was attempting to wrap his still sore right hand.

Obi-Wan glanced over his shoulder at the small boy, offering up a reassuring grin. "I had a small accident last night while showering."

"Oh. What happened?"

"I slipped and hit my hand on the wall." It wasn't a complete truth, but Luke was far too young to understand what had brought Obi-Wan to punch the shower wall.

Obi-Wan smeared some bacta that he'd found in the 'fresher's medikit across his battered knuckles before slipping the end of the bandage between his pointer and middle fingers. Squeezing his fingers together to hold the cloth steady, Obi-Wan began winding around his hand with practiced ease. There had been far too many times during the Wars that he'd been forced into the role of medic while they were on the battlefield.

"That why you tell me not to play in the shower?" Luke asked, watching what Obi-Wan was doing with fascination.

He grinned at the boy, Luke's blunt response so much like one Anakin would have given in his youth. "Yes, that's why I tell you not to play in the shower. Only the bath."

"You only hurted your hand, right?"

"Only my hand."

Luke nodded, satisfied with Obi-Wan's answer. The boy had bolted back out of the 'fresher before Obi-Wan finished wrapping his hand, already distracted by something else.

By the time they'd arrived at the river, Obi-Wan was beginning to suspect that Luke had something to do with Anakin's motivations.

Obi-Wan glanced downstream towards Luke and Anakin. Luke was standing knee deep in the river, staring intently at Anakin who was crouching at the water's edge. Stripped to his trousers, Obi-Wan had no choice but to look at the scars that mottled Anakin's torso. Thick, shining weals where there had only been smooth lines of muscle. His guilt written upon Anakin's flesh. Even without Anakin asking for help on that fiery shore, he should have taken him to safety before the flames had ignited. Anakin had been his friend, his brother. There was nothing Master Yoda should have been able to say that would make him turn against the other half of his very self. Obi-Wan couldn't help but wonder how different things would have been if he'd refused Master Yoda's orders and faced Sidious himself.

Turning himself away from Anakin and Luke, Obi-Wan went back to laundering their clothes. There was no point in going down that path, even in his mind. Obi-Wan already knew exactly what would have happened if he and Master Yoda had exchanged places that fateful day. He would have died at the hands of the Sith Lord and both Anakin and Luke would have been lost forever.

Obi-Wan rung out his clean tunic, checking it a final time to ensure that the worst of the singe marks were scrubbed away. It was hardly as clean as he would have liked, but it was serviceable until he was able to retrieve some of his own clothing in a day or so. Luke's tunic and trousers were already washed and hanging from a nearby branch.

"Daddy! Daddy, look!"

After giving his shirt a final shake, Obi-Wan rose to his feet just as Luke came galloping towards him through the shallow water. There was a pair of small rocks clutched tightly in his hands. From where he was still crouching, Anakin looked quite pleased with himself, something that instantly set Obi-Wan's nerves on edge. Things never went well for him when Anakin was smug.

"What have you got there?" Obi-Wan asked, turning slightly to hang his tunic over a low branch.

Luke stood bouncing from foot to foot, waiting until he had Obi-Wan's full attention. The boy glanced briefly over his shoulder at Anakin, looking for a bit of reassurance. Obi-Wan was pleased to see the way Anakin's features softened somewhat. It was just as Obi-Wan had hoped, that Luke would coax the Anakin that he'd once known back to the surface.

"Watch," Luke instructed, opening his fists and staring intently at the two rocks resting on his palms. Very slowly, the rocks began to hover ever so slightly above Luke's open hands. They didn't lift far, not once Luke began giggling and lost his concentration. Both rocks tumbled to the ground, but Luke was undaunted, beaming up at Obi-Wan and awaiting his approval.

"That was quite impressive," Obi-Wan enthused, kneeling down so that he was at a level with the little boy.

Luke once again glanced back towards Anakin, grinning broadly. "Papa teached me."

"Very impressive indeed."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Waking up two days in a row alongside Obi-Wan was unsettling. Unsettling because of how normal it felt, though Anakin suspected—and hoped—that Luke's presence was the main source of his... contentment. It couldn't be Obi-Wan's return to his life. The time when Obi-Wan played an important role in his life was long over. The older man had tried to kill him and taken Luke from him for nearly four years. Obi-Wan had lied to him and asked him to do things that were unconscionable to a Jedi. There was no reason that he should feel anything positive about Obi-Wan's return to his life.

Especially not when Luke was still so utterly devoted to his false father.

Even so, it was impossible not be drawn back to memories of his own childhood as he watched Obi-Wan bend down to speak to Luke. Anakin still remembered what it was like to have Obi-Wan's full attention focused on him and how important it had made him feel when he'd first entered the Jedi Temple.

Anakin shoved the thoughts away, growling quietly under his breath. He was no longer the child who'd hung onto every word—every lie—that had passed Obi-Wan's lips.

"There's a towel over there you can use if you'd like me to clean your trousers."

Obi-Wan's voice, directed at him, startled Anakin from his thoughts. He stared at the older man for a moment, uncomprehending, before looking directly at his former master. There was no guile, at last none that he could detect, in the other man's gaze.

"Anakin?"

Luke ultimately made the decision for him, darting towards the towel Obi-Wan had indicated. "Yer pants need cleaning, Papa."

As soon as Anakin reached out to take possession of the towel, Luke was off again, rushing back towards the little fort he'd started to build out of rocks. Anakin watched him go, something inside him lightening as he watched Luke run about so carefree and happy. The boy radiated pure light in a way that he had never seen before. Anakin wished that he could lay claim to some of that brightness. That he was in some way responsible for Luke being so utterly content.

"We need to figure out a plan," Obi-Wan said, interrupting his thoughts. When he looked over at the older man, Obi-Wan had stripped out of his own trousers and was in the process of wrapping a towel around his hips. "I would like to give Luke back a sense of stability."

This was the Obi-Wan he was used to. The one who took charge of situations and plowed on regardless of what was going on around him. Anakin still vividly remembered a battle on some nameless Outer Rim planet when Obi-Wan had been issuing orders to the various battalion leaders while the medics were setting his dislocated shoulder and forcing a splintered shard of bone back through the skin of his forearm. Obi-Wan hadn't broken stride once even though Anakin himself had felt nauseous watching it.

"Are you going to let me wash your trousers?"

For the first time, Anakin became aware of just how much time had passed since Luke had wandered off to play at the river's edge. Obi-Wan was nearly finished with his own pants.

"What's so important that you want to risk going back to the Forest Moon?" Anakin countered as he began to tug at the fastenings of his pants. He paused for the briefest of seconds before pushing them down over his hips. The scars on the lower part of his body were thicker and far more conspicuous than the ones on his torso. It was only thanks to the extreme talent of Palpatine's medics that Anakin even still resembled a man from the waist down. In the end, he decided that he'd much rather Obi-Wan be forced to see the results of his betrayal.

Obi-Wan stood up and began to wring out his damp trousers. He looked directly at Anakin for an all too brief moment before turning towards the tree to hang them up. "Our lightsabers. Your old one and mine, in any case."

Even though he knew that he shouldn't be, Anakin couldn't help but feel somewhat surprised that Obi-Wan had held onto his lightsaber. He leaned over to tug his trousers free of his feet then handed them towards Obi-Wan.

"I meant for Luke to use it when he was old enough," Obi-Wan admitted as he accepted the pants from Anakin. "For him to have something of his father's."

Anakin struggled, but couldn't think of any way to respond to Obi-Wan's revelation. Obi-Wan had always had a way with words that staggered Anakin. The older man would have made an excellent politician if he'd had the stomach for it. Unlike the politicians, Obi-Wan's words held a great deal of truth. Those truths were greater when the matter held personal significance to Obi-Wan. Like Luke did now.

As much as he wanted to rail against Obi-Wan, continue building upon the hatred he already felt for the older man, he couldn't. He'd never been able to stay angry with Obi-Wan for any extended length of time. Obi-Wan had such a calming Force signature that made it difficult to direct negative emotion towards him for any extended period. It had frustrated Anakin to no end as a padawan and knight, and certainly didn't endear the older man to him then.

"I only ever wanted what was best for Luke," Obi-Wan said as he set himself down to washing Anakin's pants. As Obi-Wan shifted, the towel that was wrapped around his waist shifted as well, revealing a scar on his upper left thigh that Anakin couldn't recall.

There had been a time when he'd known Obi-Wan's body more intimately than he'd known Padmé's. When he'd known the feel of it, the location of every scar and imperfection, and when he'd been able to map out the constellations of freckles on his shoulders and the back of his hands. He'd been closer to Obi-Wan than he had any other soul in the galaxy and even though the older man hadn't changed much since the fall of the Republic, he was virtually a stranger.

The swirl of chaotic emotions that Obi-Wan was creating in him was incredibly unnerving. His current anger warred with remembered calm, making Anakin uneasy. Not trusting himself to refrain from acting out in front of Luke, Anakin left Obi-Wan to his work and drifted towards his son. Luke was as soothing to him now as Obi-Wan had been in the past.

XXXXXXXXXX

Daddy and Papa were very confusing. Luke knew they still loved each other—their blueness would start to get all twisted together whenever they were close enough—but they both acted so horribly to each other. Papa more than Daddy. Papa still thought that he hated Daddy because of what happened on the fiery planet.

The holonovel said that they were closer than anyone else ever. That sometimes people forgot they weren't one person. Luke didn't really understand that part, but he knew it meant that Daddy and Papa loved each other lots. They just forgot. Papa was too angry and Daddy was too serious and it made them fight when they should have been happy like he was. He had his daddies and everything was going to be okay because the Scary Man was finally gone.

"Can't hurt Papa anymore," Luke grumbled as he practiced lifting rocks like Papa had showed him. "Papa's back with Daddy and Daddy'll make him all better.

XXXXXXXXXX

Wilhuff Tarkin viewed the edited footage within the privacy of his richly appointed apartments on board the Death Star. Construction on the super weapon had been halted temporarily as decisions about its completion were made. Tarkin himself had never been fond of the former Emperor's planet killer, but knew that it could be the necessary thing to cement his power base.

News of Palpatine's death would soon be announced, as would Tarkin's ascension to the title of Emperor of the Galactic Empire. He and his staff had taken the time to craft the perfect scenario that would turn Vader from the heir apparent into an enemy of the Empire. He had been working for months to try and find a way to denounce Vader in the Emperor's eyes. Never once had he thought that Vader would do the work for him and take not only himself out of the picture, but Palpatine as well.

Vader's decision to remove his mask and reveal his true identity helped make things that much simpler. The Emperor's death at the hands of his top lieutenant would discredit him to those loyal to the Galactic Empire while the rebel Republican sympathizers would be horrified to learn that their revered Anakin Skywalker—one of the Jedi supposedly lost to Order 66—had helped to destroy the democracy he'd once upheld. It was just a matter of carefully splicing together video files and artfully removing Kenobi from that final confrontation. Tarkin couldn't risk that possible bout of nostalgia that the reunion of The Negotiator and The Hero With No Fear might create.

It was positively delicious to think that in only a few short hours Vader would be the most reviled man in all the galaxy.


	22. Part XXI

**Part XXI**

"_A potentially dark time has befallen our great Empire. After four years of peaceful leadership, Emperor Palpatine was murdered by his one-time apprentice, Darth Vader. The truth of Vader's identity has been in question since his first appearance during the initial rise of the Galactic Empire. It will be a shock to many of you to learn that beneath the mask of Darth Vader hides the face of the former Jedi General Anakin Skywalker..."_

Anakin was far more restrained while watching the HoloNet broadcast than Obi-Wan had expected. None of the tremors that usually heralded Anakin's outrage shook the small cottage; however, his anger visibly simmered within the depths of his gaze. Obi-Wan could not recall the last time he'd seen Anakin manage to contain such strong emotions.

After seeing the HoloNet broadcast for himself on the Imperial starfighter, Obi-Wan had hesitated showing it to Anakin. They'd both known that new of Palpatine's death would eventually be announced, but Obi-Wan certainly hadn't expected the truth of it to be twisted about in such a way. It was inevitable that Anakin see the broadcast since they'd need to decide how to handle the fall-out.

Obi-Wan had waited for Luke to go to bed before giving Anakin the datachip. While Anakin watched Tarkin's false version of what had happened on the Death Star, Obi-Wan had made himself a cup of tea. He'd have much rather had a strong drink, but the cottage didn't contain any. When he'd returned from the kitchenette, Anakin was slumped on the sofa, his eyes glued on the datapad. Obi-Wan sat down across from him on one of the chairs, carefully sipping his tea.

"_... difficult to say just what it is that incited Lord Vader to turn against our beloved Emperor. Perhaps, though, we should not be so surprised since he was unable to maintain his vows to either the Jedi Order or the former Republic. Whatever name he goes by, Anakin Skywalker or Darth Vader, he is an enemy of the Empire and should be hunted down and killed as such."_

"We should leave at first light," Obi-Wan suggested once Anakin had tossed aside the datapad. "Find a remote place where we can keep Luke safe until the worst of this has faded. You were right when you said earlier that we were far too close to the Death Star for comfort."

The younger man's continued silence was starting to worry Obi-Wan. It never turned out well for anyone when Anakin went quiet. Obi-Wan could only hope that being around Luke had curbed Anakin's somewhat erratic behaviour at least a bit. Enough so they wouldn't need to risk Luke's safety any more than necessary in the following weeks. That meant foregoing some sentimentality on his part and leaving their lightsabers behind. Luke and Anakin's safety was far more important than a bit of metal and circuitry.

"You should take Luke and run," Anakin announced suddenly into the silence. "Don't tell me where you're going, just go. Right now they're only looking for me and I want it to stay that way."

Obi-Wan was shaking his head before Anakin had even finished speaking. No matter his frustrations with his former partner, he was not prepared to have Anakin torn from his life again so soon.

"You cannot expect me to stand aside while you walk needlessly to your death," Obi-Wan scoffed, doing what he could to keep his voice down so they wouldn't wake Luke. Only decades of Jedi training prevented Obi-Wan from attempting to shake some sense into Anakin. "We both know that Tarkin will not allow you to live, and that broadcast proves it. He has set the whole galaxy against you and I will not lose you again."

Anakin looked truly startled by his words, the younger man's mouth moving as he struggled to find a proper comeback.

"We can figure this out together," Obi-Wan pressed while Anakin was still sorting out his own thoughts. He set his cup down on the table, leaning forward with his forearms resting on his knees. "In a way that won't take you away from your son."

Bringing Luke into it was an underhanded tactic on his part, but Obi-Wan had no intentions of standing by while Anakin all but threw himself to a horde of vicious nexu. Tarkin had made his intent very clear with the official HoloNet broadcast of Palpatine's death. The new self-appointed emperor had made quite sure that everyone knew what had become of Anakin Skywalker following the fall of the Republic, ensuring that it would be that much more difficult for his former partner to find peace.

"Why are you so insistent?" Anakin questioned, leaning back further into his seat. "You should be glad this happened. That I'll be hunted wherever I go. I destroyed everything—your life and the entire Jedi Order. You should hate me and hand me over to Tarkin yourself. You're the one who left me to die on Mustafar!"

Obi-Wan sat there, momentarily stunned by Anakin's outburst. He had expected Anakin's anger for how things had ended on Mustafar, but his last accusation was laced with betrayal. As though Obi-Wan was the one who'd destroyed them.

"Anakin, I—"

The younger man shook his head, his eyes flashing briefly. Just as quickly, Anakin seemed to collect himself, his eyes shifting back to the clear blue Obi-Wan remembered so well.

"So far Tarkin has only set his dogs on me. There's no mention of you or Luke. You're both still safe."

"And right now so are you."

XXXXXXXXXX

It shouldn't have surprised him that Obi-Wan refused to listen. His former master was incapable of believing that he was ever wrong. Obi-Wan and the rest of that Sithspawn Council had always thought they knew better than everyone else, supposed paragons of perfection.

"For once, can you just do what I ask?" Anakin demanded as he launched himself off the sofa. "I know Tarkin better that you—I've been forced to endure him since the fall of the Republic—so I know better than you how to handle this situation."

Obi-Wan pursed his lips, huffing silently. The older man was silently stewing in his seat, obviously annoyed, but not furthering his argument. And for a man renowned throughout the galaxy for his ability to argue any point, the fact that Obi-Wan wasn't trying to press his side meant that Anakin was winning.

A very rare feat since Obi-Wan hated to lose arguments and Anakin never won them. At least not when arguing with Obi-Wan.

"There has to be some type of compromise," Obi-Wan hedged, the Negotiator coming to the fore once again. "Some way that we can keep both you and Luke safe from the Empire."

"Now who's talking us in circles," Anakin sneered as he stalked about the small common room.

"I'm trying to find a solution that won't tear you and Luke apart," Obi-Wan pleaded, following Anakin's movements with his eyes.

Obi-Wan lifted his right hand to cup his jaw, smoothing his fingers over his skin the same way he'd once tugged at his beard. It was such a familiar gesture. One that once would have made Anakin try and coax him into shaving the beard off since it had always made him look at least a decade older than he actually was. Anakin had hated the beard from the first moment Obi-Wan had begun growing, back when Anakin was about twelve. Hated that Obi-Wan had felt the need to try and make himself appear older. Hated that Obi-Wan had never believed he was good enough. Obi-Wan was the Sith Slayer. He'd killed Maul while he was still a padawan, when even Qui Gon hadn't been able to defeat him.

Anakin shook his head, pushing such thoughts from his mind. Obi-Wan had betrayed him—sided with the Council and everybody else against him. Turned Padmé against him.

"There is no solution. Tarkin saw to that. He's destroyed both Darth Vader and Anakin Skywalker. So, please. Just take Luke and run. Run far away where he can't find you."

XXXXXXXXXX

"My Lord Emperor, there are reports coming in throughout the Empire of Lord Vader's presence in hundreds of systems."

Tarkin glanced up at his aide, setting aside the reports he'd been sent from Palpatine's network of spies earlier that morning. None of them had any clue where Vader was at the moment and Tarkin doubted very much that any of the newer reports would be anymore forthcoming. It was too soon for there to be any reliable reports. Skywalker and Kenobi were far too adept at avoiding detection. It would take some time to ferret them out.

"Go through the reports and highlight the ones that you believe have the potential to be at least partially true," Tarkin instructed his fellow Eriaduian. "The galaxy must believe that Vader is nearly within our grasp."

The other man nodded, slipping back out of the room with the datapad clutched to his chest.

"Very soon, Vader," Tarkin murmured, sliding his fingers across the screen on his own datapad, flipping the screen to the next file. "Very soon."

XXXXXXXXXX

"Daddy, where's Papa?"

Luke hadn't seen Papa since he'd gone to sleep last night. He almost remembered Daddy and Papa talking angry at each other, but couldn't figure out what they'd said. He hadn't been awake enough. Now him and Daddy were getting back on the spaceship they'd stolen from the bad men.

Only Papa wasn't with them.

"Your father will be following after us," Daddy said as he began fiddling with all the buttons on the console.

"But Papa doesn't have a ship," Luke pointed out, looking intently up at Daddy. There was a funny look on Daddy's face. One that Luke didn't know. Even more confused, he asked, "How come Papa's not coming with us?"

"There are some things your father needs to deal with before he can join us."

Raising himself up onto his knees, Luke turned and clutched at the bottom edge of the window, scanning the trees for any signs of Papa. Papa should have come with them. He loved them both and wouldn't leave them. Daddy wouldn't leave Papa behind, either. Luke had listened to the whole story on the Holonovel. Daddy had almost died because he wouldn't leave Papa behind when the bald serious man told him to. Daddy had laughed at the serious man then went to go get Papa.

"Daddy, we can't leave Papa," Luke pleaded, glancing over his should at his father. "Papa needs to come with us."

The sudden _whir_ of the engines starting filled the ship.

At the very edge of the trees, Papa stepped out. Papa wasn't looking at him, though. Papa was looking at Daddy. Luke saw Daddy's reflection in the window nod and then Papa looked at him. His eyes were sad again. Papa didn't want them to go, but he wasn't trying to stop them. He was letting them go away without him.

"Papa!" Luke shouted, slapping his hands against the glass.

The ship started shaking and lifted a bit off the ground. As it got higher, Papa stepped back into the trees.

"Daddy, we can't leave Papa!"

"We won't."

XXXXXXXXXX

Anakin stood on the outer edge of the clearing, watching as Obi-Wan's stolen starfighter began to lift off. He was still somewhat amazed that he'd been able to convince Obi-Wan to agree to his terms, no matter how temporarily. In the end, Anakin knew that it had more to do with Luke than Anakin's own arguments the night before. He'd counted on Obi-Wan's devotion to the boy to get his own way, but now that they were leaving, Anakin was no longer quite so sure it had been the right option.

As much as he wanted to keep Luke safe from whatever Tarkin was planning, he couldn't help but remember all the times he and Obi-Wan had won battles that had been deemed unwinnable. Between them, they'd always found a way. Right now, though, Luke was more important. Anakin ultimately didn't care what happened to him so long as Luke was kept safe from Tarkin and his plotting.

Once the starfighter disappeared from sight, Anakin started back towards the cottage. After Obi-Wan had eventually capitulated to his demands, the two of them had stayed awake a while longer, figuring out how to divide their limited resources. Necessity dictated that Obi-Wan take the starfighter, but the ship had been outfitted for a mission and contained a fair amount of supplies.

"_This is yours," Obi-Wan said, handing Anakin the lightsaber that he'd kept concealed since they'd left the Death Star. Not that Anakin had tried very hard to find it. "I'm surprised you kept its design so close to your original."_

_Anakin fingered the familiar hilt of the lightsaber, sliding his thumb between two of the ridges that ringed the bottom of it. "I may no longer be a Jedi, but the design has always served me well."_

"_It has," Obi-Wan murmured, returning to sorting through the box of supplies. "You've been able to beat me since you were fifteen."_

"_Only because you let me. You were always the victor when it counted."_

_Obi-Wan bowed his head, dropping a small container back into the box. He crouched, head down, for several long minutes before sitting back on his heels. A moment later, Obi-Wan dropped down onto his rear, resting his forearms on his upraised knees. The older man took several deep breaths before raising his eyes to meet Anakin's._

"_I never wanted to fight you, Anakin. You were closer to me than any other soul I've ever known—in many ways you still are. In the end—the mou kei—Anakin, you have to know that I could see no other way to stop it. If I thought you would have listened to me... but after you almost killed Padmé... How did it go so wrong so quickly?"_

_The only time Anakin could ever remember seeing Obi-Wan so wretched was just after Qui Gon's death. He was curled in on himself, his blue-green eyes suspiciously glassy. The white bandage on Obi-Wan's right hand stood out starkly in the harsh overhead lighting on the starfighter. Anakin still didn't know how Obi-Wan had come to hurt his hand, even asking Luke hadn't gained him any insight. It baffled him that it had even happened. Obi-Wan had never been particularly self-destructive._

"_I believed the lies that Palpatine fed me."_

_It was not an admission that Anakin had ever thought to make—especially to Obi-Wan—but he couldn't deny the truth of it. Palpatine had played on all his fears, twisting them to suit his own purposes. Vader had been created out of Anakin's fear of losing those that he loved most._

"_It wasn't entirely your fault."_

_Obi-Wan's words were so quiet that, at first, Anakin almost didn't hear him. _

"_There was always more I could have done... At the very least I could have listened to you."_

More himself now than he had been since the beginning of the Great Jedi Purge, Anakin couldn't deny the fact that he would rather be heading off to face Tarkin with Obi-Wan by his side. Together, Tarkin's defeat would have been inevitable. As the HoloNet had once proclaimed time and again, they were _The_ Team.

Shouldering his pack more securely, Anakin started in the direction of the nearby village. Once there he could catch a transport to the Forest Moon's largest down then book passage off the moon entirely. Anakin still wasn't sure how he was going to go about confronting Tarkin—a fact that he was all too aware that Obi-Wan had picked up on. Thankfully, Luke was Obi-Wan's primary concern and the older man didn't force the issue.

Anakin knew, just as well, that Obi-Wan would come after him eventually. Once he was sure that Luke was safe, Anakin had no doubt that Obi-Wan would attempt to track him down. With luck, Anakin would have finished with Tarkin before Obi-Wan was able to find him again.

XXXXXXXXXX

For the tenth time in as many minutes, Obi-Wan glanced down at the small screen near the bottom left of the console. There was a steady red light flickering at regular intervals just off center of the screen.

A homing beacon.

Even while he'd still been listening to Tarkin's HoloNet broadcast of Palpatine's death, Obi-Wan had known that Anakin would want to go off on his own to deal with the situation. And while Obi-Wan could see the sense in one of them avoiding the coming conflict in order to keep Luke safe, he couldn't let Anakin face Tarkin and the entire Imperial Army on his own. So before returning to the cabin, he'd taken one of the small, unobtrusive homing beacons located in the starfighter's arsenal and installed it within the inner workings of Vader's lightsaber.

He would find Anakin again.

Once he and Luke had safely made the jump to hyperspace, Obi-Wan dialed up a frequency that he'd hoped to not use for many years. It took several minutes, but someone on the other end responded to his signal. Unlike himself, the person on the other end of the transmission didn't appear to have changed much since their last meeting on Polis Massa.

"Obi-Wan? I almost didn't recognize you."

Obi-Wan inclined his head briefly, a slight smile tugging at his lips. "Hello, Bail."


	23. Part XXII

**Part XXII**

The face that looked back at him from the holodisplay was one that Bail Organa had almost expected to never see again. Obi-Wan Kenobi, one of the few high ranking Jedi left in the galaxy, was hardly recognizable from the man he had been more than four years after the fall of the Republic. And while that time had no doubt been stressful for the other man, he seemed to have borne it well.

"I'm pleased to see you well, old friend," Bail greeted, smiling broadly at the Jedi Master. Regardless of the state of the galaxy or the Jedi Order, Obi-Wan still held himself just as he had in his old life. His posture appeared relaxed, but as soon as someone looked closely, it was easy to spot the tension and power held in check.

Obi-Wan inclined his head briefly. "You as well, Senator. I trust that this channel is secure."

"Of course," Bail was quick to assure him. "Does this call have anything to do with Palpatine's death? The official report just doesn't sit well with me. Or with many other senators."

"You mean beyond the fact that my presence in the room has been conveniently omitted?" Obi-Wan chuckled quietly, a self-deprecating sound that Bail had heard many times over their course of their friendship.

Bail was genuinely shocked by the revelation. He'd watched the Imperial Office's official report of the events on the Death Star countless times and could see no point where Obi-Wan could have played any role in the startling events. He, like most others he had talked to, had assumed that Vader's unstable mind had finally snapped much like an abused animal and killed his vicious master. While Bail certainly didn't mourn Palpatine's passing, he could not find any sympathy for Anakin, either.

"I don't understand. Did Vader—"

"Anakin," Obi-Wan interrupted him, his tone brooking no contradiction. "Anakin has returned to himself. It was Anakin and not Vader who saved my life and killed Palpatine."

While it was his natural inclination to deny that such a dramatic change was possible, Bail was equally aware that there was no one else in the galaxy, living or dead, who knew Anakin Skywalker better. Padmé may have given birth to his children, but how could she really know him when they'd spent so little time together? So he listened, equal parts amazed and baffled, to Obi-Wan's account of Palpatine's final moments. As Obi-Wan went on, it became quite obvious that Luke had a great deal to do with Anakin's transformation.

"Does he know about Leia?"

Bail couldn't deny the relief he felt when Obi-Wan shook his head. While he had no intention of denying Leia her heritage, he wasn't ready to risk his young daughter to someone so unstable.

"Given everything that's happened recently, I thought it best to keep Leia's presence from him for now," Obi-Wan assured him. "I hope, though, that you will not protest Leia being introduced to her brother."

At last Bail understood why Obi-Wan had contacted him. "You're going after him, aren't you?"

Obi-Wan's smile was as grim as Bail had ever seen it. "I cannot leave him to face the entire Empire on his own. Even if he were still lost to the darkness, I could not do it."

And it was those convictions that made them such a legendary team.

"Daddy, who's that?"

Bail couldn't see the boy, but it couldn't be anyone other than Luke. Anakin and Padmé's son and his dear little girl's twin brother.

Obi-Wan turned away, his usually stoic features softening in a way that Bail had never seen before. Fatherhood obviously suited him in ways that he doubted even Master Yoda could have predicted that long ago day on Polis Massa.

"This is Senator Bail Organa. He's a friend of mine from before you were born."

There was some shuffling and then a face similar to Leia's and yet so completely Anakin joined Obi-Wan's projection on the holodisplay.

"Hi. I'm Luke Kenobi... Kenobi-Skywalker."

XXXXXXXXXX

Obi-Wan stared at the back of Luke's head in surprise. He'd known that Luke had become aware of Anakin's surname from viewing the holonovel he'd found in the cottage, but he hadn't expected the little boy to combine both his old and new identities so quickly. Luke Kenobi was only ever meant to be a temporary fiction to keep Luke safe until he was old enough to understand the events surrounding his birth. It was an eventuality that Obi-Wan had always prepared for. Luke Kenobi-Skywalker was something Obi-Wan didn't quite know how to respond to immediately. Especially not before he knew what Anakin thought of it.

"It's very nice to meet you, Luke," Bail said, smiling fondly at the boy. The Imperial Senator then looked back to Obi-Wan, his expression somber once again. "How long until your estimated arrival?"

Obi-Wan glanced down at the starfighter's console and did a few quick calculations. "Early tomorrow afternoon is my best estimate. Please keep your eyes open to all possible transmissions concerning Anakin."

"I will," Bail assured him. "Be safe, old friend."

"May the Force be with you."

As he shut down the communication, Obi-Wan pressed his face into the top of Luke's head. There was no longer any hiding from the machinations of the galaxy and its suffocating politics. Obi-Wan had wanted to keep Luke away from such things for as long as possible, but that had stopped being an option when Tarkin had set the entire galaxy against Anakin. Bail, at least, had his own secrets that would help ensure Luke's continued anonymity for a while longer since exposing Luke also meant the possibility of exposing Leia.

"I thought you were sleeping," Obi-Wan murmured, leaning back deeper into his seat. He held himself still as Luke twisted about until the little boy was facing him, small legs straddling his own. "It's far too late for you to still be awake."

Luke's grin was utterly unrepentant and all too similar to his father's. "'M not sleepy. I wanna fly with you."

"The ship is flying itself at the moment. There's not much we need to do until we reach our destination," Obi-Wan explained, stroking Luke's sides gently. While Luke had always reminded him of Anakin, those similarities had become even more prevalent since Anakin's return. "Which means, young one, that it's time for you to return to sleep."

"But I'm not sleepy, Daddy," Luke insisted, pouting up at him in a rather exaggerated way. The little boy leaned forward then, snuggling against Obi-Wan's chest. "I wanna stay with you."

Sighing, Obi-Wan moved his right hand from Luke's side to just below his shoulder blades. "Your father didn't leave you willingly. He's doing this to keep you safe."

"Yer gonna go 'way too, aren't you?" Luke asked quietly, his voice muffled against Obi-Wan's chest.

It was a question Obi-wan had hoped Luke wouldn't ask. He had always made it a point to tell Luke the truth whenever possible and would not outright lie to the boy. "I will be going after your father, yes. I have been tracking him since we left Endor."

Luke was silent for several minutes and Obi-Wan began to wonder if he'd started to drift off to sleep. With all the chaos that had followed Anakin's arrival into their previously well-structured life, it was no surprise that Luke was so unsettled. The little boy had developed some odd sleeping habits lately, the most noticeable of which being Luke's insistence on sleeping with one or both of them. Obi-Wan knew that he wasn't discouraging the dependency as much as he should have, but given the uncertainty of things to come, he was reluctant to be parted from Luke for very long. Obi-Wan feared the day Anakin took Luke from him permanently.

"Daddy, is the sen'ter nice?" Luke asked around a yawn a few minutes later.

Obi-Wan smiled softly, gently running his hand up and down Luke's back. "He is. Bail was one of your mother's best friends. He has a little girl who's your age. Perhaps the two of you can keep each other entertained while I help your father."

"What's her name?"

"Leia."

Luke whispered the name a few times, trying it out on his tongue. There was much that Obi-Wan wanted to tell him, but now was not the time. Revealing the truth to the children was not a decision that Obi-Wan could make on his own. The Senator and his wife had just as much say in the situation; perhaps moreso since the secret of Leia's parentage kept her safe from Anakin's enemies in a way that Luke would never be. It was one thing to be perceived as the child of a respected Imperial Senator and quite another to be the child of a reviled Sith Lord or exiled Jedi Master. Whether Luke was thought of as Anakin's son or his, there were those in the galaxy who would see him harmed simply because of his father's identity.

As Luke drifted off to sleep, Obi-Wan kept his gaze on the flashing red light that was Anakin. Whatever ship Anakin was currently on board was sticking to the Outer Rim shipping lanes. Hopefully the younger man was not drawing attention to himself. Obi-Wan hated not knowing what Anakin was planning. From listening to the HoloNet broadcasts earlier in the day, Obi-wan knew that Tarkin had left the Death Star and was heading back to Coruscant. That meant Anakin was as well. Obi-Wan mentally plotted Anakin's most likely route to try and anticipate where their paths could possibly intersect. With luck, he would only spent a limited time on Alderaan before following after Anakin. Alone. He would not risk the Organas' safety in this endeavor.

There was little else to do as Luke slept except watch the tracking beacon. After a while, Obi-Wan began to find it tranquil and soothing. He focused on it, pacing his breath in time with its steady flicker. Obi-Wan turned his consciousness inwards, carefully feeling his way along the bond that had once tethered him and Anakin together. It was fragmented and strained, ignored nearly to the point of disintegration, but the bare bones of their nearly two-decade-old training bond still remained. With effort, he could almost sense Anakin's tangled emotions echoing along it. Even with their bond mostly in ruins, Anakin's rage was palpable. A dragon burning fire from deep within him, feeding off his anger. Along with all those dark emotions, Obi-Wan could also sense the barest flickering of hope buried within the younger man.

It wasn't much, but for the moment it was enough.

By the time Obi-Wan was piloting the ship into Alderaan's atmosphere nearly thirty-six hours later, Luke was a bundle of anxious energy. It was the longest Luke had ever spent in a confined space without anyone to play with. To help keep him amused, Obi-Wan had begun teaching him how to pilot the starfighter. Luke proved himself to be his father's son in that as he did in so much else. Obi-Wan had no doubt that one-day Luke would be an exceptional pilot.

"Wow," Luke marveled as Obi-Wan navigated the ship towards the docking platform of the Aldera Royal Palace. "Is that all a house?"

Obi-Wan smiled over at Luke briefly before turning his attention back to the traffic lanes. "It is. The Senator's wife is Queen Breha of Alderaan, so they live in the royal palace."

It wasn't until Luke pointed it out that Obi-Wan actually realized how different Luke and Leia's upbringings had been thus far. Leia was being raised as a princess with all of the privilege that entailed. In his mind, Obi-Wan envisioned her as Padmé in miniature; strong, regal and passionate. While Luke might not share his sister's refinement, his bearing was far beyond that of a typical mechanic's son. The twins were still young enough that they wouldn't be too aware of their differences. Obi-Wan didn't doubt that Luke would soon have the young princess chasing all manner of insects around the palace grounds.

"Daddy, there's something tingly in my head."

"Tingly how?" Obi-Wan asked, glancing away from the console again.

Luke shrugged, rubbing at his forehead with the heel of his palm. "Somethin' sparkly. Happy."

Even before Luke spoke, Obi-Wan knew exactly what the little boy was trying his best to explain with his limited experience.

Leia.

Obi-Wan had always suspected that some type of bond existed between Anakin's children. It had to be an incredibly close bond considering they'd only registered as a single fetus throughout Padmé's ill-fated pregnancy.

"Then why don't you try sending happy thoughts back," Obi-Wan suggested, smiling encouragingly at Luke. "Someone may be waiting for you to respond."

Luke was up on his knees, wiggling towards Obi-Wan. For a moment, he looked as though he was about to topple off the edge. "How do I send happy thoughts?"

Obi-Wan chuckled quietly at the sight and held out a hand just in case Luke lost his balance. "That will have to be a lesson for another day. We'll be landing before I have a chance to teach you properly."

The responding pout was expected, but it faded almost instantly as the royal palace began to loom large in the viewscreen. Obi-Wan spotted Bail on the platform along with his wife and, nearly as fidgety as Luke himself, Princess Leia Organa. Even from a distance, Obi-Wan could recognize Padmé in the little girl's bearing. The sturdy boots that she wore with her dainty, flowery dress indicated that she wasn't as delicate as so many other princesses Obi-Wan had met over the years, just as Padmé had been. She was darker than Luke with a riot of curls, favouring their mother's Nabooan blood, but her smile... that was Anakin's.

"Come along, Luke," Obi-Wan said after he powered down the ship. "Let's go greet our hosts."

XXXXXXXXXX

Leia knew the blonde boy. She didn't know where from, but she remembered him. He made something in her head sparkle and sing. Leia looked up at her parents, but they didn't look like someone was making their heads all tingly.

"Papa, who's that?" Leia asked, tugging on her father's robes to get his attention.

Papa smiled down at her, stroking his fingers through her hair. "The boy's name is Luke. He'll be staying with us while his father attends to some business off-planet."

That wasn't the whole truth, but Papa told her the blonde boy's name.

Luke.

She knew Luke—had met him somewhere even if she didn't know where that somewhere was. He was wearing ripped trousers and a scruffy tunic and really really needed a haircut. Leia wondered if Momma would let her dress Luke up in pretty clothes so that he didn't look like such a messy boy.

"Hi!" Luke chirped, darting away from his father to run the last little bit over to her. He stopped right in front of her, close enough that Leia could see the freckles on his nose. Freckles like she had on her nose.

Leia pushed her hair out of her face and smiled back at Luke. "Hello."


	24. Part XXIII

**Part XXIII**

Finding a ship took longer than Anakin would have liked. With all the tech scattered around Xal 3, Anakin had hoped to find a ship and be gone in a matter of hours. Instead he spent more than a day bartering his way into possession of an outmoded BTL-B Y-Wing that would probably only just get him as far as Coruscant if he were lucky. Unfortunately, since he couldn't risk drawing attention to himself, Anakin took what he could so long as it would get him to Tarkin.

With all his time spent obtaining a ship and plotting the quickest route to Coruscant, it took him a lot longer than it should have to find Obi-Wan's tracker. Even knowing that Obi-Wan would eventually come after him, Anakin had still been surprised to find the small tracker secreted within the wiring of his lightsaber. Anakin had been checking that the weapon hadn't been damaged by Palpatine's Sith lightning and stumbled across the extra component. He should have gotten rid of it right away—stuck it on one of the outbound freighters before he left Xal 3—but he didn't.

"Kriffing Sithspawn..." Anakin growled as he closed up the casing, the tracker still hidden within the hilt.

There was a comfort in knowing someone was on his side.

Half the time Anakin wasn't sure that he even like Obi-Wan. He certainly didn't trust him, but Anakin would trust that Obi-Wan would at least make sure that Luke was safe before coming after him.

Anakin sat back in the pilot's seat, staring at the streaks of starlight that filled the view screen. He ran his right hand over his smooth scalp, fingering the raised ridge of scar tissue. A memento of Obi-Wan's betrayal... Of his own. He'd betrayed both Obi-Wan and Padmé by believing Palpatine over them. Alone with his thoughts and the lightshow of hyperspace, Anakin's mind wandered to those last few fateful days before the destruction of the Republic. Days when he had forgotten everything he knew to be true and walked willingly towards his own downfall.

"_You were so easy to manipulate. Far easier than I had imagined."_

The voice, once so reassuring, filled the Y-Wing's cockpit. Palpatine's voice positively dripped with malicious glee, taunting him from beyond the grave.

"_It's no wonder the Jedi never trusted you completely. They knew you would bring about their doom."_

Anakin growled, slamming his fist against the side of the pilot's seat. It was the only place he could strike without risking damage to the ship. This Palpatine existed only within his mind and Anakin wouldn't allow the ghost of his own fears to destroy him.

"You're dead," he ground out, squeezing his hands into fists. "Gone."

"_Am I really?"_ Palpatine taunted, his voice slithering like oil over every part of him. _"Your precious Jedi are able to return from beyond. What is to stop a Sith from doing the same? From exacting vengeance against those who've wronged us?"_

"You will not touch him!"

Anakin continued to curse and rage, trying to drown out the sound of Palpatine's voice in his head. He shouted until his throat was raw and his still weak lungs ached.

Until he felt a slight tug deep within his mind. A feeling that he knew all too well.

"Obi-Wan."

The training bond they'd once shared—the thing he'd thought obliterated in the wake of his fall—still appeared to hold life.

"_Of course. Obi-Wan Kenobi. Ever the faithful Jedi Master."_

"Shut up!" Anakin roared, every muscle in his body strained tense, creating incredibly pressure against the joints that connected his artificial limbs to the stumps Dooku and Obi-Wan had left behind. It served to ground him and allow him to remain aware of himself enough to keep from shaking the ship apart. "Get out of my head!"

"_Weak. Just like all the other Jedi."_

Anakin laughed, loud and hysterical, as the tension slowly eased from his muscles. "And yet I defeated you."

The silence that followed was a relief.

XXXXXXXXXX

"I just need a few weapons and someone to repaint the identification numbers on the starfighter."

For nearly an hour, Obi-Wan had been trying to dissuade Bail from providing any type of manned assistance. It hadn't surprised him overly much when the senator had revealed his role in the fledgling rebellion that Obi-Wan had started hearing whispers of a few months back. However, Obi-Wan refused to risk those men and women in such a blatant assault on the Empire. Anakin was his responsibility and Obi-Wan wouldn't see anyone else harmed because of them.

"You can't expect to stop Tarkin on your own," Bail protested, leaning back in his chair. He took a healthy swallow from the glass of wine before him. "Tarkin knows that you and Anakin are working together—at the very least he has to expected it given what happened on the Death Star—so he'll be prepared. Two Jedi against all of the Imperial forces in the capital... You're asking me to send you to your death."

"Killing Tarkin will not destroy the Empire any more than killing Palpatine did. I do not know who will follow Tarkin, but you'll need men to help remove him before he can build up his power base. That is what you and the Rebellion should be focusing on and not two wayward Jedi."

Obi-Wan knew that he would never fully convince Bail that his intended plan was best, but he hoped to at least get him to not interfere. His usual diplomatic skills were utterly wasted on Bail whose judgment would be clouded by their friendship. It was part of the same reason he'd always had such a difficult time getting Anakin to follow orders when Anakin had deemed it too dangerous. The fact that Obi-Wan was sixteen years older and more than capable of looking after himself had never seemed to matter.

"I assure you, Bail, that it's not my goal to be captured or die, but neither do I want the same for Anakin."

"After all that he has done, you would still risk your life for him," Bail marveled, shaking his head in disbelief.

Obi-Wan shrugged helplessly and reached for his own wine. "He's still Anakin whatever he's done. I could no more abandon him than I could Luke."

"Isn't that exactly what you're doing right now?"

Obi-Wan scowled at the Imperial Senator over the rim of his wine glass. He set the glass down slowly as he swallowed, choosing his words carefully. "I brought Luke here to ensure his safety before I go deal with his father's latest bout of heroic stupidity. Tarkin isn't a threat to Luke in the same way Palpatine was. He has no care for the Force or Force users."

Were it not for the worry Bail was trying hard to conceal, Obi-Wan would have been quite frustrated. In recent years, he'd become used to dealing with all manner of problems on his own. Even the potential threat Anakin had initially posed was something he'd been prepared to shoulder alone. The Imperial Army, however, was not as easy to evade as a few storm troopers, especially not in the heart of the Empire, so Obi-Wan had sought help from Bail. And even though it brought a lot of added complications to what was already a dangerous endeavor, it was necessary.

Sighing deeply, Bail slumps even further into his seat, a sure sign of defeat. Obi-Wan may not have been able to convince the senator of his argument, but he had managed to outlast him. In some cases, that was all that was needed.

"There has to be something I can do to help make your task easier."

It was likely as much of a concession as he was likely to get from Bail Organa. A concession that Obi-Wan would gladly accept. If Bail could provide some type of distraction while he tried to keep Anakin from getting himself killed, it would ease his mind greatly.

Bail was also presenting him with the opportunity to retrieve the relics he'd been forced to leave behind on Endor. Obi-Wan shook his head mentally; equal parts amused and baffled by his increasingly sentimental tendencies. As he thought about it, though, Obi-Wan realized that he truly didn't care that he was behaving in a very un-Jedi-like way. The Jedi had fallen because they'd become stagnant after failing to evolve and adapt to the changing galaxy over the past millennia. If the Jedi had any hope of returning, they could not longer follow their former tenants.

"A distraction would be most welcome. Some beaurocratic issue that would distract Tarkin from whatever Anakin is planning... And also someone to perhaps collect a pair of lightsabers hidden away on Endor."

The small bit of tension that had remained in Bail's posture faded following Obi-Wan's final request.

"It's easy to see which of those requests is most dear to you."

Obi-Wan smiled softly. "Indeed."

XXXXXXXXXX

No matter how open-minded and understanding he tried to be, Bail found it difficult to rationalize Obi-Wan's willingness to accept Vader's return from the dark side of the Force. After all, Obi-Wan had been exiled to the Outer Rim for more than four years, so he likely wasn't aware of the atrocities Vader had committed during that time. The Sith Lord had been little more than a loaded weapon Palpatine had unleashed on those who displeased or attempted to undermine him. Countless senators and other political figures had disappeared or been outright killed shortly after defying the Emperor.

Bail was also quite certain that he was far from the only one who would doubt Vader's supposed rehabilitation. It would take time for Bail to convince even the most dissentious of the Imperial elite that Lord Vader had recanted his dark ways and once again meant to take up the mantle of the Jedi. They, like nearly everyone else throughout the galaxy, would need proof that Anakin Skywalker had returned to himself.

And, as luck would have it, the person who could provide that proof was currently sitting across the table from him.

Making sure to keep his expression neutral, Bail unobtrusively activated the room's recording device with a quick press of a button before imploring Obi-Wan to repeat his version of the events on the Death Star. Bail did what he could to steer Obi-Wan away from mentioning Luke. It would make editing the recording easier before he sent copies to individuals he was certain would help the Rebellion's cause. Obi-Wan's mere presence would likely be enough to sway many.

"You have an ulterior motive," Obi-Wan said suddenly, interrupting his tale.

It was on the tip of Bail's tongue to deny Obi-Wan's accusation, but, at the last minute, he stopped himself. Obi-Wan would catch him in the lie soon enough. It was a talent that had served the younger man well during his time as the Republic's premiere negotiator.

"There are those who'll need further convincing that Anakin isn't a danger to our cause. They will believe you. Not only because you are one of the few remaining Jedi Masters left in the galaxy, but you know Anakin best. If anyone can convince them that he can be trusted again, it's you."

Obi-Wan ran a hand over his stubbled jaw in an all too familiar gesture. "I wish that I could say with absolute certainty that he could be trusted... Anakin has always been volatile, and that hasn't changed. If anything, he's even more unpredictable than he was before."

Bail downed the rest of his wine in a single long gulp. That was not what he'd wanted to hear. There were only a handful of senators committed to the Rebellion, and an unleashed Vader wouldn't instill any confidence in those who were undecided about their allegiance. The confidence Bail had felt on a few minutes before was dashed with only a few sentences from Obi-Wan.

"And you're still willing to risk your life to help him."

It was a fact that didn't surprise Bail even though it both confused and amazed him. After everything that Anakin had done and all of the destruction that he'd caused, there should have been no forgiveness. Especially not from one of the people that Anakin had hurt the most. Even if Obi-Wan would never admit to it, Bail had seen how utterly lost he'd been following Mustafar.

"He's Anakin. What else can I do?"

XXXXXXXXXX

For the third time since leaving Xal 3, Anakin removed the tracker from the hilt of his lightsaber. He held the small device in the palm of his hand, staring intently at the tiny bit of circuitry that bound him to Obi-Wan. It was a tenuous thing. All it would take was the slightest pressure between his durasteel fingertips and the tracker would be crushed. Anakin tried again and again, but he couldn't force himself to exert even the smallest amount of that pressure.

"I am weak," Anakin moaned, closing his fist around the tracker. Still, he couldn't make himself squeeze hard enough to actually destroy it. Instead he punched the bottom of the bunk above him with his free hand. The pain sensors in the limb barely registered the effect of the blow. "Kriff!"

Launching himself up off the bunk, Anakin stalked to the small shelf on the opposite side of the small sleeping quarters and snatched up his lightsaber. For the third time he slipped the tracker back into the wiring. Once he'd secured the bottom of the hilt, Anakin left the sleeping quarters and returned to the cockpit. It wouldn't be long until he reached Coruscant—a few more hours at most.

It was what would come next that still plagued him because Anakin still hadn't set on a plan. He'd listened to countless HoloNet broadcasts detailing current events in the capital, but could figure out no clear path to Tarkin. That was usually Obi-Wan's job. The older man had always excelled at crafting their more discreet and subtle attacks. Complicating things even more was the fact that Tarkin seemed to have anticipated him retaliating because he was never without an escort. In each and every broadcast, no less than seven armed guards surrounded Tarkin. Four of them were members of Palpatine's elite Red Guard, each of whom had received specialized training from Anakin himself to defend against Force users. While their presence wouldn't make an attack impossible, it would make it much more difficult.

Even without a concrete plan, Anakin still had no intention of delaying his attack on Tarkin. If Luke was ever going to be safe, the new Emperor needed to be eliminated as soon as possible.

Anakin slumped back down into the captain's chair, rubbing his hand over his bare scalp. And while the feel of it still automatically made him recall Obi-Wan's betrayal, that time it was a completely different betrayal. One that he reluctantly forgave Obi-Wan for years ago, but that could help him in his current predicament.


End file.
